Guardian Angel
by thegriffin88
Summary: The Kira investigation team finds a girl on their roof with strange animal-like ears who claims to be from heaven. What's wrong with this picture?" Rated T for language, violence, alcohol, and Mello's libido.
1. Chapter 1

"Hey y'all! This is the actual author speaking this time! If you like Guardian, my second story that I started writing after Kakashi no Kaze Koneko (you can find it on but it will be coming to soon along with the sequel!). I just wanted to say a little about this story I'm working on. First off, yes, I was inspired by Chobits. It's my favorite manga, and I couldn't help but bite some style off of it. I apologize if the resemblance is too much, but I'll try to tone it down as best as I can. I don't wanna have CLAMP come and beat me up. Second, this is taking place after Light gave up the Death Note. I know Light sounds real gay in this, but i couldn't help but make him sound really ditzy. I mean, come on, would Light be more fun if he was all serious? Third, if I get any reviews, I want to thank all of y'all. I don't necessarily write these things to get reviews, I just do it for fun, and one day my sister said "Hey, I'm gonna put these on the net" and I said "Fo sheazy H'Peazy." Nah, I didn't really say that, but none the less, all you're words of encouragement will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks and enjoy Guardian! Peace out, fools."

**Bold:** is something in another language.

Written by spookthemook (author of the acclaimed Parody Potter series) and posted by thegriffin88 (author of the acclaimed So I Married a Murderer and The Living Blade Alchemist series)

* * *

**Prologue**

Thunder snarled. Lightening could be seen below the blue clouds, flickering. It was somewhat cold. There was no wind where they stood, but the girl's silver hair drifted around her pale face eerily. Her eyes were half closed, as if she was running percentages in her mind. Her companion looked sideways at her as she stared down at the clouds. He could see the rain below them.

"Hey, kid," her companion said nervously, "If you don't want to go, you don't have to. Go on another day; one that's not so rainy, huh?" He tried to smile at her, but her dreamy, transparent expression that he had seen on so many others only made him frown in concern. He knew as well as the others that she was ready to kill. She was a soldier now.

"No," she said in her quiet, airy voice. She closed her eyes slowly, listening to the thunder grumble around her and the wind below them growing louder and louder.

"It must be done."

Her companion watched as she surrendered herself to the darks depths below them, and could only shake his head softly and sigh.

"For the love of God, please be safe."

**Angel**

"Ryuzaki…Ryuzaki…Ryuzaki!"

The sleep deprived detective sighed to himself softly before wearily turning to the teen next to him.

"What is it, Light?" he asked tiredly.

"I'm bored," Light complained, leaning back in his chair.

L narrowed his eyes at his partner. He had been fully immersed in his work, clacking away persistently on his laptop, until this so-called 'genius' interrupted him to tell him that he was…_bored_.

"Light will just have to occupy himself with the work I gave him," L said as he returned to his laptop screen, Light giving a huff of annoyance. It glowed brightly, causing his eyes to wince slightly. It was somewhat dark in the room. The sky outside had darkened, signaling a thunderstorm. L could already hear the rain start to patter on the roof. He checked the clock on the wall that ticked in the silence and sighed once more; not nearly late enough to call it a night.

"We've been working since five o'clock this morning," Light's voice broke the silence as he spun in his chair slowly. L gritted his teeth and empathetically tapped the keyboard.

A growl of thunder off in the distance silenced the two. They both looked up to see that the room had gotten seemingly darker.

"It's getting pretty stormy out there," Light observed, "Maybe we should quit now; we don't want the power to go out." Light restrained a smile; he would make anything up to get out of working with L.

"No," L said blankly, his shadowy eyes still focused on the bright screen. This time, Light sighed.

"You know, Ryuzaki," Light began, "I think you need to get out more. I mean, do you even have any friends out there in the real world?"

"I do not need friends," L said, trying to ignore the teen.

"I mean, really," Light continued, "A guy like me has no problem getting friends. I have tons of friends. You, on the other hand…" L suddenly turned his dark eyes to Light.

"Is Light trying to say that his appearance rivals mine?" he asked softly. Light shifted uncomfortably.

"Well…yeah, pretty much."

To Lights surprise, L said nothing and returned to his laptop. It was quiet in the room for a while. Light had his arms crossed as he watched L silently, listening to the thunder and rain outside. Annoyed by the silence, he spoke again.

"You aren't—upset that I said that, are you?" Light asked, "I mean, 'cause seriously, if you just took care of yourself like I did, then maybe you'd have more friends."

"I do not wish to continue this conversation," L said quickly, maybe a little too defensively, because this only egged Light on.

"I'm serious, Ryuzaki," Light said, "I could help you. I mean, it'd probably take all my power to get you looking decent, but I could do it."

"Light, get back to work!" L suddenly snapped. In his frustration, he shoved his thumb into his mouth and chewed on it angrily. Light was silent for a few seconds, staring at the detective in shock before standing up and yelling loudly, "Fine! Last time I try to help you, then!"

"I do not want Light's help!" L shot back, "I just want to finish this Kira case with out any distractions!"

"I'm just trying to make you feel better about yourself!"

"Who said I needed Light's help to make myself feel better? Who ever said I _needed_ to make myself feel better!?"

"Look, if you wanna spend the rest of you life in a friendless, loveless world, be my guest, 'cause I'm not gonna be part of it!"

"I'd rather live in that world than live in this one with you!"

The two both reached for the collars of their opponent and drew their fists back, ready to begin the third fight of the day, when a large crackle of thunder screamed through the air, causing the room to plunge into total darkness. A moment of silence ensued.

"Oh, well this is just great," Light griped, flicking his hand off of the collar of L's shirt. L did the same and chewed on his fingertip angrily. A chocolate covered strawberry would be nice right about now.

"Where's the damn circuit box thing?!" Light yelled as he tripped his way through the dark office, promptly tripping over a computer wire and hitting his head against the wall.

"Ow! What the hell!? Ryuzaki, help me find a flashlight!"

L groaned softly and slid a hand down his pale face. Could it get any worse?  
As if to comply, a door at the opposite end of the room flew open with a loud bang, causing L to jump slightly and Light to scream.

"Ryuzaki, Light! Y-You have to help me!"

L slowly turned around to see none other than Matsuda standing in front of the door. On closer inspection, the two could see that Matsuda was dripping wet with rain water and was panting hard. Light raised an eyebrow.

"What happened to you, Matsuda?" he inquired, "You're as white as a ghost." Matsuda gulped for air before saying shakily, "I-I was upstairs, working, and I heard this thump on the rood, s-so I went up to check, y'know, to see what was on the roof, and…and…"

"And, Matsuda?" L drawled, rolling his eyes impatiently.

"And I saw something on the roof!" Matsuda blurted out shakily, "It-It was all white and curled up, just lying there on the roof! I swear, I'm not lying!"

L sighed loudly. He could already feel a headache coming on.

"Matsuda, did you see exactly what it was?" Light asked, not seeming convinced at all.

"No!" Matsuda said, as if what Light had asked was pure insanity, "I ran back here to tell you, do you think I'd get that close to some kind of—creature on our roof!?"

"It was probably nothing," Light waved a hand dismissively, "Don't get so worked up about it."

"But guys, I'm serious!" Matsuda said desperately, "It could be some kind of monster!"

"Well, what do you want us to do about it?" Light snapped. Matsuda was quiet for a second. L was about to dismiss Matsuda to go back upstairs, when Matsuda suddenly said, "We have to go up there and see what it is!"

L winced as his head ache grew.

"What!?" Light exclaimed, "Ain't now way in hell I'm going up there."

"I thought you said you didn't think it was anything," Matsuda pointed out, "So you'd be okay with going up there and seeing what it is, right?"

"No!" Light snapped, "I don't wanna get attacked by some freak animal!"

"But what if it needs help?"

"Too bad! I'm not going out in that storm to see what it is!"

"Well, one of us has to!"

"No way! If you wanna see what it is so bad, go yourself!"

"But I'm scared…"

"You're always so scared, you little-"

"_Fine!_"

Light and Matsuda looked over to see L stomping past them towards the stairs through the darkness. They watched as he threw open the door with a bang, before turning around with his narrowed, coal black eyes and saying, "I'll go see what it is." With that, he slammed the door, loud footsteps up the stairs preceding the door slam. Light and Matsuda looked at each other.

"I've never seen Ryuzaki stomp out of a room before," Matsuda mused.

"I know, right?" Light agreed excitedly.

It had only been a minute, and Light and Matsuda were sitting in the darkness, already bored.

"How long is he gonna take?" Light complained, flopping down in his desk chair.

"Well, he does have to run up all those flights of stairs," Matsuda shrugged, "Since the elevators broken and all."

"Nah, Ryuzaki's a fast runner," Light said.

"Have you ever seen him run?"

"Yeah, it looks really weird; probably because he's always crouching on that chair of his."

"Come to think of it, I've never seen Soichiro run before. I've never seen Aizawa run, either."

"Wow, we must be really bored to be talking about this."

"Yeah…"

Suddenly, the silence was interrupted when the door on the other side of the room opened loudly in the silence. Light and Matsuda turned towards the door in the darkness, hoping to see L or someone standing there, but what they saw made them gasp.

L stood there, soaking wet, with a small girl in his arms.

"Ryuzaki!" Matsuda exclaimed, springing up from his chair, "What's going…Is that what I…?"

"Matsuda," L said, slightly breathless as if he had raced down the stairs with the child in his arms, "Go light a candle."

In no time at all, the girl had been laid out on one of the remaining desks in the office, as space was short at the time. The candle Matsuda had lit was flickering warmly in the dark, creating a warm, orange light. Soichiro, Light, Aizawa, Matsuda and L all peered down at the young stranger; frightened.

"H-how did you find her, Ryuzaki?" Soichiro asked shakily.

"I went outside onto the roof to see what Matsuda was talking about," L explained, shaking the rain water from his dark hair, "I too saw something white, huddled in the rain. On closer inspection, I saw it appeared to be," he stopped for a second, as if he was realizing it for the first time, "A young girl."

The five Kira investigators all stared down at her. Her wet, silver hair glistened brightly in the warm flicker of the candle. Her skin was almost ivory, like porcelain. She was clad in a thin white dress that looked tattered and torn. In truth, she didn't look like a common Japanese native.

"She looks like she's only twelve years old, I'd guess," Aizawa peered down at the child, "Except for the fact that her hair's grey."

"Still," Light added nervously, "I can't imagine what a kid was doing on our roof in the middle of a storm…" As if to remind the group that a storm was still raging outside, another growl of thunder boomed around the walls. The rain pelted harder against the roof, filling in the gap of intense silence.

"Actually, that's not all," L said suddenly. Everyone turned to look at him expectantly. This time, L looked slightly more blanched than usual. L slowly reached over and brushed a few stray hairs away from the child's ear. Everyone gasped loudly.

"Look at her ears!" Matsuda exclaimed, his eyes wide, "They're—they're like, animal ears, aren't they!?"

It was true. Everyone peered down to see that the silver-haired girl's ears were not human. They were small and gray, covered with a very fine hair. They resembled the ears one would find on a dog.

"I was surprised when I saw them," L nodded almost solemnly, "I have no idea if their real or not, but it is quite a shock."

"I can't believe I didn't notice those!" Light was definitely scared now, "It was so dark, I guess…but…," he paused, visibly shaking, "what is she?"

The five looked at each other nervously. L was slightly nervous as well; with all his encounters with the worst criminals in the world, now he seemed to be truly clueless about something.

"Well, we have to do something with her," Matsuda said nervously, "We can't just put her back out there."

"Of course we won't, Matsuda," Soichiro said seriously, although there was a hint of worry behind his voice, "We—we just have to get her to a hospital, or something."

"But the roads are blocked," Aizawa said nervously, "We could call them to come. But what will they saw when they see a little girl with ears like hers?! We have to do something now, she could be dying!"

"He's right," Light agreed, his hands shaking, "We need to help her."

In the silence, the four looked over to see L calmly reaching downward to take the girl's pale hand into his. They watched as the detective looked down at her small hand in his larger hand, his thing fingers grasping hers. His coal black eyes looked somewhat sad.

"She's cold," he said softly.

It was when he took hold of her hand that the child gave a stir. Everyone, including L, jumped back slightly. They watched with wide eyes, their hearts pounding, as she slowly began to sit up, shaking slightly. She spoke in a small, soft voice.

"**Ow**.** Ow ow ow ow ow**," she murmured, holding a hand to her head as she shut her eyes tightly. The five watched her; awestruck.

Suddenly, she opened her eyes, revealing a vibrant shade of blue that no one on the investigation team had ever seen before. She stared around the room with her doe-like eyes, taking in her surroundings silently. She spoke again, muttering softly; confused.

"…**Qui**…**quo**…," her small voice almost echoed in the silent room.

Everyone looked at each other in slight confusion. Nobody knew what to do.

L was the first to speak.

"…Excuse me," he said in his normal, quiet voice. The girl jumped sharply and whipped around, her blue eyes growing twice their size at the sight of the dark haired, shadowy eyed man staring at her.

"**Ah! Quis tu!? Onde estou eu?**" she yelped in fright, holding her hands up to her mouth.

L blinked. How was he supposed to handle this situation.

"It's—okay," he said calmly, holding up a hand, "You're safe." The girl looked around to see the four other men crowded around her staring at her. When she turned to look at them, they flinched slightly. It wasn't just her ears that dripped water, or the fact that she looked so scared, but the piercing color of her eyes was enough to make anyone blink in surprise. She studied the four nervously before saying quietly, in perfect Japanese, "Oh…I'm sorry…" The Kira investigators looked at her in confusion. She was now closing her eyes, as if recovering from a bad dream. She seemed to be slipping into slumber again. Everyone looked at L. He stared back at them, before turning to the child who was now closing her blue eyes.

"Where are you from?" L asked softly, looking at her nervously. The young girl opened her large eyes and turned them to the detective, looking up at him. L flinched slightly. She blinked, her eyelids closing again.

"Um…where am I from?" she said softly, her voice becoming a murmur as she slipped into darkness, "Um…heaven..."

She slumped over onto the desk, falling into a deep sleep. L, Light, Matsuda, Soichiro and Aizawa stared wide-eyed at each other. The room became silent again, the flicker from the warm candle almost making sound in the silence of eth dark room.

"Uh, I'll be upstairs," Light announced, quickly making a dash for the stairs.

For some reason, the outside seemed to stop, leaving the sky a deep, ink blue.


	2. Chapter 2

If we owned this, L wouldn't be dead.

**Cody: Isn't that a spoiler?**

Not anymore

* * *

**Heal **

"Okay…Okay…_Okay_…Okay, so we found this girl on the roof, and we took in her in, on where we discovered that she has "dog ears" or something, and then she woke up, said she was from heaven, and collapsed again?"

L stuffed his hands in his pockets and brought his eyes up from the floor.

"Yes, that pretty much sums it up," he said dryly. The detective was slightly distraught as well, so he didn't need Light making the situation worse by fluttering around the place waving his hands.

"Light looks like a bird," L said quietly.

"Shut up, okay!?" Light snapped. L stared unwavering at Light's blood-shot eyes. "There's some monster-kid in here who speaks some weird language! You'd be freaking out too if you weren't half-asleep all the time!"

L _was_ half-asleep. For the last few hours, he and the rest of the investigation team had been trying to decide what to do with her. L had finally decided to take the girl up to his room, where he left her sleeping peacefully. Matsuda went on a coffee run, and Soichiro and Aizawa had gone upstairs to rest from all the excitement.

L looked at the elevator door behind him. He felt a little nervous about leaving the strange girl alone in his room. Even now he was inching towards the elevator (luckily, the power turned on shortly after she woke up) tempted to go into the room.

"Where is she now?"

L blinked. "What?"

Light sighed.

"The girl!" he snapped, "Where'd you put her? 'Cause she's not staying in my room! I mean, don't get me wrong, she's kind of cute, I guess, I'm not saying she's ugly, but I'm just not ready to have some half-dog creature in my room, you know? I don't wanna wake up to that! She doesn't have a tail, does she? 'Cause that would_ really_ be pushing it!"

"She's in my room."

Light watched with wide hazel eyes as L slowly shuffled his way into the elevator.

"Where are you going!?" Light asked, flustered, to say the least.

"To the room," L said blankly, pressing the elevator button. Light huffed, looking around the office. It was still slightly turned over, with papers strewn on the floor and chairs scattered everywhere.

"What the hell am I supposed to do!?" the teen asked exasperatingly. As the elevator door opened with a chime, L merely walked in with out saying a word, the doors closing behind him.

Light sighed and flopped down in a desk chair. Even in the windowless room, he could tell that the sun was beginning to rise, signaling dawn. Light yawned.

"Where the hell is Kira when you need him?" he muttered before closing his eyes.

L cautiously opened the door, hearing it creak slightly. The room was more lit now, making it more inviting. He sighed softly in relief; she was just as she left him, curled up on his bed, sleeping peacefully. The morning light was reflecting off her silver hair, making a halo-like effect. She had been dried, ridding the cold rain waiter that soaked her body. L slowly walked over and stood next to the bed. He didn't know what to do now. Only hours before he was just working on the Kira case, tracking down all the murdered victims and having his usual fighting match with Light. Now he was taking care of someone who claimed to be from "heaven".

Something clicked in the detective's mind as he stared at her face.

"An angel?" L asked quietly.

He brought up the tip of his finger to rest on his bottom lip.

Was it possible? The existence of a Shinigami was plausible, after all. So why not angels? Who else would say that they were from heaven? When was the last time he saw a girl her age with silver hair and blue eyes, let alone grey, fur-covered ears? Was it possible that he was looking at someone who was thought only to exist in religion?

L suddenly shook head eagerly, knotting his brow.

_No, of course not, _L thought to himself, _what am I saying? Angels don't exist. As or Shinigami—well, we'll find out soon enough. I don't have any real reason to be afraid of her, do I?_

"**Quis tu?**"

The detective let out a small yell and jumped, falling over in the process with a loud thump, accompanied by an "oof".

He was staring back at the biggest, bluest eyes he had ever encountered. He felt himself draw a breath and right himself, shaking the surprise off and standing up. The girl stared up at him from her crouching position on the bed. Her silver bangs wisped up in different directions, her ears lying somewhat limp on the sides of her head. She cocked her head curiously at the surprised detective.

"**Quis tu?**" she asked again in a small voice. L sighed a bit from recovery.

"Oh, good," he managed a small nod of the head, "You're awake. You are feeling better, yes?"

He gently leaned down to peer at the girl. She seemed to be better. She looked healthier; her skin glowed. When he put his face in front of hers, his shadowy eyes staring back at her, the young girl suddenly gave a soft smile directly towards L.

"**Salve**," she said softly.

L recoiled abruptly, clearing his throat.

"Uh, well, you seem alright," he said quietly, cocking his head as he inspected the girl, "But what are you saying? What is this language that you're speaking? I vaguely remember hearing these words before. Is it…Latin? That's it, Latin. Can you speak Latin?"

_Of course she can, _L mentally smacked himself, _She's speaking it right now._ _But nobody actually _speaks_ Latin now-a-days, do they? Is this what they teach the kids in school these days?_

"**Sic**," the girl nodded, her smile remaining.

"Oh—you can only speak Latin?" L asked nervously, scratching his mass of black hair, "But you were speaking Japanese before; what happened? Can't you speak it again?" The young girl lost her smile for a second, staring up at the dark haired detective above her, but merely regained her smile and stared up at him happily.

L nibbled his finger in thought.

"Well, I don't know what to do with you," he said quietly, turning away briefly to think aloud, "I can't exactly keep you here, can I? In fact, you're already cutting into our work time," he lifted his head in revelation, "I believe I can send you over to Rodger in England. Yes, you can stay at the Whammy orphanage. You definitely seem smart, if you can speak Latin fluently. I'm sure you can learn many things there. I'll have to call him and ask when we-"

L stopped short when he felt something grip onto his sleeve. He turned around to see the girl's small hand gripping onto his white sleeve tightly, staring up at him. Her blue eyes were transfixed on his, almost anxiously. L blinked for a second; she looked worried; almost…sad.

She _was_ sad. L was not an expert in human emotions, but what he saw in the eyes of the girl staring up at him was definite heartbreak.

_That look…I know that look…_

"…H-hey, what's wrong?" the detective asked nervously. He didn't expect this; nor did he like it when she looked up at him like that, "…You don't want to go? D-don't worry, I wont send you there. I'll keep you here for just a while longer. Don't be sad, okay?" He managed a very small smile towards her and laid a hand on her soft hair, patting her head.

The Latin-speaking girl sat still for a second, her eyes wide. In one movement, she abruptly launched herself at the detective, throwing her small arms around him. L gasped and grunted as he fell to the ground yet again with a loud thump. When he opened his eyes wearily, he saw the girl draped across his chest, her arms still hugging his neck as she looked down at him. Her sapphire eyes were soft now; almost thankful as she smiled the words, "**Gratias**."

L gulped softly and lifted a shaking hand to pat her head.

_Well, maybe she can stay a little while longer._

A rapt at the door was heard about five minuets later. When the door opened, L was confronted with Matsuda, Aizawa, and Light.

"Where the hell were you?" Light complained, barging his way past the detective into his shared apartment-like room, "You left me down there without saying a word!"

L rolled his eyes as Soichiro and Aizawa made their way past him.

"I'm sorry for leaving Light alone for five minuets and forty-six seconds without any companions to keep him company," he drawled. Light only narrowed his eyes at him and was about to say something when he turned around and screamed.

"_Aah, it's that thing!_" he screeched, backing away while pointing a shaking finger. Soichiro and Aizawa leapt forward to see what the distraught teen was pointing to.

They saw a small silver-haired girl with gray wolf-like ears standing in the doorway. She blinked twice, her big eyes staring back at them.

"**Salve**," she said softly.

The investigation team stared back at her.

"Oh, it's just h-her," Aizawa breathed shakily, wiping a hand across his forehead, "I almost forgot about her."

"It's a little hard to forget about something like her," Soichiro said quietly, peering at the girl in the doorway, "At least she woke up…but…Ryuzaki?"

"Yes?" Ryuzaki answered politely.

"…What on earth is she wearing?" Soichiro asked in disbelief.

Everyone's eyes turned to see the girl clad in a slightly oversized white shirt. She smiled back at them, lifting a floppy sleeve to cover her mouth.

"Well, I had to give her something to wear," L scratched his head, "That dress she was wearing was torn and tattered."

"So you gave her one of your shirts?" Light asked suspiciously, raising his eyebrows towards the confused detective, "Not only is that sort of perverted looking, but what's Mogi gonna say when he walks in the office to see some girl walking around in nothing but your shirt?"

L had forgotten that the other member of the investigative team was out at a photo shoot with his "client" Misa Amane. L turned his owl-like eyes to the girl. She spun around happily in her new shirt and beamed at him.

"**Alba**," she chirped. L stuffed his hands in his pocket and sighed quietly. If only he knew what she was saying to him?

"Aw, she's so cute!" Matsuda gushed towards the girl, "Even with those ears."

"Well, at least she looks healthy," Soichiro walked over and knelt down in front of her, "Now, um—little girl, can you speak Japanese?"

The girl cocked her head.

"**Quid?**" she asked in a small voice. Soichiro raised an eyebrow towards L.

"I've confirmed that she is speaking Latin," L explained in his monotone voice, "She hasn't spoken any other language since she woke up."

"Latin?!" Matsuda exclaimed, his surprised face matching the others in the room, "But—nobody really speaks it, do they?"

"Until now," Aizawa looked over nervously at the girl, who was sitting on the floor, cocking her head from side to side.

"**Quid?**" she repeated innocently.

"Wasn't she speaking Japanese before?" Light asked in confusion, "I could have sworn, she said "I'm sorry", and that she came from "heaven". She had a perfect accent."

"Yes, that is true," L confirmed, shuffling slowly over to the seated girl, "I've tried many times to get her to speak Japanese, but she just can't do it. She says either "Quid" or "Nullus". From my early classes in the language, I'm sixty-two percent sure she is saying "Not any", so I can confirm that she at least can understand me. She just can't speak Japanese."

The Kira investigators were quiet for a while; thinking about this curious predicament. The wolf-eared girl watched with inquisitive eyes at the geniuses at work.

"Well…let's sum up how much we know so far," Soichiro spoke up confidently, "She was found on our roof during a storm, passed out. When we brought her in, she woke up, speaking in Latin, then, in Japanese, told us she was from heaven, passed out again, and brought up here. Ryuzaki claims that when she woke up, she could only speak Latin. Do I have it right?"

L blinked.

"Pretty much," he nodded.

"What about her ears?" Light questioned, sort of making a face, "Anything interesting about them? 'Cause they're freaky as hell."

"I inspected them, but to be honest," L even looked surprised as he said this, "They really are canine-like ears, I have to admit. They're definitely not fake. And they're active, too."

"Active?" now it was Aizawa's turn to make a face. L calmly turned to the girl beneath him and clapped his hands loudly. The girl's small gray ears perked up instantly, now standing instead of their usual floppy looking stance. She looked up to see it was L and smiled.

"**Ego audio tu**," she smiled, pointing to her ears. Everyone looked at L expectantly.

"I have no idea," he shook his head quickly, "But, in any case, she's definitely no ordinary human, as you can see."

Everyone fell silent again; wondering what to do with their new find.

"…Well…we can't keep her here," Soichiro spoke somewhat softly, "I mean…don't get me wrong, she seems like a nice kid and all, but…this had already eaten up enough of our team searching for Kira. Criminals are still dying, and we hardly have any leads. We need to just hand her over to the police and let them deal with her."

"I thought we were the police," Matsuda asked.

"Shut up, Matsuda," Aizawa said, "But in all serious, I think that's the best thing to do."

"I agree," Light nodded.

"I don't."

The detectives looked over to see L standing placidly next to the girl, staring back at them with his coal black eyes.

"…What?" Soichiro asked in disbelief, "Ryuzaki, you can't be serious. You of all people would want to get rid of her, wouldn't you?"

L was quiet. He looked down at the girl resting by his bare feet. She looked up at L when she felt her eyes on him. She smiled. L sighed softly.

"I don't want to get into my own personal history right now," L said quietly, "But—to be honest, I was a lot like this child when I was her age."

The men in the room looked at the detective in surprise. They had never heard their superior talk like this before.

"To spare time, let's just say I know what it's like to be abandoned," L said quickly, turning away from the gaze of his co-workers, "Obviously this child was abandoned, and left with no where to turn but to us. Who knows how the police will react to someone who looks like her? What if they try to exploit her?"

L closed his eyes briefly when he remembered those sad blue eyes looking up at him in plea. He looked at them now. She was still staring up at him, waiting for him to speak again. L faced the Kira investigation team before him.

"I—can't give her up just yet."

He felt somewhat embarrsesed by bringing up his past, along with the fact that he actually wanted this child to stay, but for some reason, the detectives standing before him looked somewhat inspired.

"Well," Soichiro said, looking at the smiling child, "If Ryuzaki says it's okay, it's okay with me."

"Me as well," Aizawa smiled softly, "It'd be nice to have more company in here."

"Let's keep her!" Matsuda beamed.

"Okay," Light sighed, still flinching slightly at her ears, "But—there is one thing…"

"What is it, Light?" Soichiro asked, "It better not be about those damn ears again."

"No," Light said defensivley, "I just thought—y'know, she's going to be living here, so…we should give her a name or something."

Everyone looked over at each other. They had never considered the idea.

"That is true," Matsuda piped, "We can't just keep calling her "child" or "little girl". She needs a name."

"You're right," Aizawa nodded, "For once. But…how do we know she doesn't already have a name?"

This time, everyone looked at L. L shrugged slightly.

"I never thought to ask her," he stated simply, "But—no time like the present." He knelt down next to the girl. She turned to him and sat parallel from him, smiling.

"**Sic?**" she asked politely. L stalled for a second.

"Um…what's your name?" he asked, somewhat nervously, "Um—you're name?"

Everyone leaned in slightly; their eyes locked on the mysterious girl. The girl blinked a few times at L, who was patiently waiting for her answer. Suddenly, she smiled brightly, her ears perking up.

"Mika," she chirped, "Mika Miyoko."

The investigators smiled at their new roommate.

_Mika Miyoko. _

L wanted to smile, but fought the urge as he lifted a hand to pat her head.

"Mika," he said softly, "It's nice to meet you."

"Hee," Mika laughed and nuzzled her head against his hand.

* * *

My angels don't speak Latin, they don't even attempt to talk to God. But that's my story, not spook's. And not that you care.

If you are one of the few who does though, it's called Divine Matters and it's on my Deviant Art site. Go on, it'll be worth some of your time I'm sure.

**Cody: Oh, and whoever left that comment...thanks? (We can read it TT)**


	3. Chapter 3

Teach Me

**Teach Me**

The sleeping detective opened his dark eyes slowly. He felt the early rays of dawn shining on his face. He lifted his head and let out a yawn, stretching. He hadn't gotten such a good sleep in a while, and he was enjoying the feeling of waking up without a pounding headache. He could get used to this.

"**Ut vales hatie mane?**"

L nearly jumped a foot in the air. He let out a gasp and drew back against the headboard of the bed slightly, hitting his head with a bang.

"Ouch," he muttered painfully, holding his head. When his vision cleared, he saw sitting in front of him on the bed the silver-haired girl known as Mika.

"…Oh…it's just you," L sighed, rubbing his head, "You really shouldn't scare me like that, Mika…Actually, I almost forgot about you."

Mika began to crawl forward slightly until her face was only a few inches away from L's. He gulped as Mika pressed her little nose against his, saying softly, "**Momento ego?"**

L felt himself blush a little and pushed her away slightly.

"Uh—why aren't you sleeping, Mika?" he asked quickly, getting up and straightening himself out a bit more, "I went to sleep much earlier than usual, so I can't really remember if you went to sleep last night."

Mika looked at L for a second, but suddenly nodded her head.

"**Sic**," she said happily. L nodded in relief; at least she understood him.

"**Cetera desunt," **Mika suddenly chirped, her ears pointed up slightly. She looked around the room. L looked at her questioningly.

"Oh, what are you saying now?" he wondered aloud. Suddenly, he looked at the clock next to the bed on the nightstand to see that it read seven o'clock.

"Oh no," L said quietly, running quickly to the other side of the room to grab his laptop. Mika watched with curious eyes as L ran to and fro around her, holding up her floppy sleeves for hands and waving them slightly.

"I was supposed to start working a while ago," L continued restlessly, "I haven't started much since you came here. But, that can't be helped." He turned to see Mika still smiling at him.

"You do smile a lot, don't you?" he asked.

"**Sic**," Mika nodded. L sighed.

"We have to teach you some Japanese," he muttered to her as he walked out of the room with his laptop under his arm, "Or we'll never communicate properly with each other. Well, I suppose we can worry about that later. Until now, you can just stay in here, alright?"

Mika nodded up at L. "**Sic**," she chirped.

"And to start with your lesson in Japanese," L continued determinedly, "You're going to learn my name. My name is Ryuzaki. Can you repeat that?"

Mika blinked. "Quod?"

L sighed a bit and slumped his shoulders, but brought his head up again to point an instructing finger at her.

"My name is Ry-u-za-ki," he said slowly.

Mika blinked once more, silent, until saying quietly, "Ryu-zaki?"

L lit up. His eyes became wide.

"That's it!" he couldn't help but smile a little this time, "You said my name! You're quiet smart, aren't you?"

"Ryuzaki," Mika smiled, clearly excited with the detective's happiness.

"Great job, Mika" L patted her head.

"Ryuzaki," Mika pointed to him and smiled.

"That's right, I'm Ryuzaki," L agreed happily.

"Ryuzaki," Mika pointed to the clock.

"Oh, really?" L asked, confused.

"Ryuzaki," she pointed to the window.

"Oh, wait a second…" She began pointing to different objects in the room frantically

"Ryuzaki."

"That's a bureau. Mika, Ryuzaki doesn't mean-"

"Ryuzaki."

"No, no, Mika that's a laptop! Hold on a second. Not everything is named Ryuzaki!"

"Uh…Ryuzaki?"

L turned around quickly from his flustered moment with Mika pointing in different directions behind him to see none other than Light Yagami standing in the door way with a cup of coffee.

Mika turned and pointing to Light, smiling, "Ryuzaki!"

"Huh?" Light questioned.

"No, Mika," L took Mika's pointed fingers and set it down and turned to the teen, "I was trying to teach her my name."

"Well, you're doing a great job," Light snorted as he watched Mika point to the nightstand and say, "Ryuzaki!"

"That is a nightstand, Mika," L said quietly, turning her head to face Light, "And that is Light Yagami, but feel free to call him an immature, high-maintenance, flouncing moron."

"Hey!" Light exclaimed, up-fronted.

"M-moron?" Mika cocked her head, pointing to Light.

"Damn you, Ryuzaki!" Light pointed an accusing finger towards L, "Talking crap about me, I should kill you!"

"You're possibility of being Kira has increased by ten percent," L muttered before sticking a thumb into his mouth.

"Agh, Dammnit!" Light cursed.

"Which remind me," L said, getting up and producing a pair of handcuffs from his pocket. Light gasped in fury as L slapped the binding links of metal onto their wrists.

"You bastard!" Light hissed at the detective.

"I forgot to put this back on, after all the excitement," L continued, "So, as you can see, to monitor your actions, we will be together 24/7."

As Light began to throw a hissy fit, L sighed before grabbing his laptop and following and turning back to Mika.

"You stay here, Mika," he said, "Okay?"

Mika smiled and waved a hand, "**Valedico!**" L went up to her a bit more.

"Mika, here we say "see you soon" when someone's leaving for a little while," he said in an instructing manner, "See you soon."

Mika blinked before saying slowly, "See you soon?"

"That's right, Mika," L patted her head again, "When someone's leaving for a while, you say "See you soon"."

"See you soon!" Mika waved a hand and smiled.

"Wow, she is smart!" Light forgot about his anger and focused on Mika with a smile. "Good job," L praised her before walking out of the room, "We'll work on more when I get back."

"See you soon!" Mika chirped before L and Light disappeared through the bedroom door. She watched as he left. She slowly laid down on the bed's soft sheets, letting out a soft sigh.

"See you soon, Lawliet," she said quietly to herself before closing her eyes, "See you soon, flouncing moron."

It was a normal say at the office. Most of the excitement from yesterday had calmed down, and everyone was back to their normal schedule. L and Light were working next to each other on their separate computers, getting into a verbal match every now and then, Soichiro and Aizawa were going over documents on a nearby desk, and Matsuda had gone out on yet another coffee run.

"How much coffee do you guys need?" Light asked curiously.

"Not much, really," Aizawa shrugged, "It's just a good way to get rid of him for a while."

"Ah," Light nodded. Suddenly, a buzz at the far end of the room signaled that someone was entering the room. Everyone turned to see Mogi with Misa.

"Oh, hello, Mogi," L nodded towards the man, "Good to see you again. There are some files of papers that you can start working on upstairs in my room."

"Very well," Mogi said in his deep monotone voice, quickly retreating up the stairs.

"_Light! There you are!_"

L instinctively pushed his swivel chair away from L as a small blonde haired girl tackled Light next to him.

"Light! I missed you!" she squealed, latching herself to the slightly frightened teen, "I was at the shoot all day in the hot sun! I'm so tired, but seeing you makes it all better! Light, we should go out for lunch today, and then dinner, and then back to my place, and then we can-"

"Spare the details, Ms. Amane," L held up a hand as he shuffled over, "I'm afraid Light will be very busy this time, so he cannot make time to go see the real world." Light cringed at the way he put this but merely nodded towards Misa.

"What!?" Misa exclaimed, "B-but Light's mine! I should be able to go out with him when I want and where I want!"

"Yeah, but Misa…" Light interjected.

"Light! Don't you love me!?" Misa pleaded, throwing herself at Light.

"Um…Ryuzaki?"

Everyone turned away from the embarrassing scene to see Mogi standing by stairs.

"Yes, Mogi?" L questioned, "Is something wrong?" Mogi stalled for a bit.

"Um—there is someone in your room," he finally said. Everyone in the room looked at each other.

"Oh, you mean the girl?" Light asked quickly, "Oh, don't worry, she's completely-"

"_What!?_" Misa shrieked, letting go of Light abruptly, "_You have a girl in your room!? Light, what's this about!? How could you!? I thought we were happy together!_" As Misa attempted to rein ineffective punches at Light, L interrupted.

"Mogi, I'm sorry I didn't mention, but someone else will be staying in the building with us," L explained, "Her name is Mika Miyoko, and despite her disfiguration, she is completely harmless. Please just ignore her and carry on with your work."

It was quiet for a while as Mogi stared back at the detective.  
"Um—okay," he finally said, walking over to his desk. L and Light looked at each other.

"Mogi was never very responsive," L explained, "Amane, could you please stop hitting Light? He needs to get back to work."

"But Light, why is there a girl in your room!?" Misa screamed again.

"Misa, we found her on our roof!" Light exclaimed, pushing her away, "We're just taking care of her! She's not even close to my age!"

As if on cue, the occupants of the room looked over to see Mika standing at the bottom of the stairs, looking back at them with her big eyes.

"Ryuzaki!" she exclaimed, running over and clamping herself onto his leg. L stumbled for a second, surprised to say the least.

"Oh…," Light said, looking down at the girl, "Um—yeah, this is her."

"Light! You cheating bastard!" Mika wailed again, sending another rein of hits onto the frightened teen, "You liar! You are so totally having an affair with this girl! And she's only wearing a shirt! How am I supposed to believe you two aren't having an affair!?"

"Amane," L droned loudly, removing the girl from his leg and pushing her in front of Misa, "This is Mika Miyoko, the child we found. As you can see, she is about twelve years old. Therefore, she cannot possibly be Light's lover."

Misa narrowed her eyes at Light, who nodded empathically.

"Well, I guess you're right," she finally said, peering down at the girl, "Actually, she does look young. She's really cute, actually! Poor thing, being left out in the streets! I she an orphan like Misa?" she completely forgot her anger as she knelt down in front of the girl.

"Hello! I'm Misa Amane!" she said cheerfully. Mika blinked before smiling and saying, "Misa Amane."

"Oh, um, by the way," Light interjected, "She hasn't quite learned how to speak Japanese yet."

"What?" Misa asked, "Well—I guess that would only make sense; she doesn't look Japanese at all."

"Look whose talking," Light muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Oh, and by the way," Misa said, her voice turning into disgust, "Who put this old white shirt on her?"

"I did," L said immediately, chewing on his fingertip.

"Ew! You pervert!" Misa exclaimed, "Having a young girl walk around like that! Is she even wearing underwear?!" L felt all eyes in the room lock onto him. He sighed.

"No," he finally said, "She did not come with any. You will have to buy those separately."

"Ryuzaki," Light shook his head, "I don't want to agree with Misa, but she's right. You are a pervert."

"So be it," L sighed tiredly.

"I can't stand to see someone as cute as her have such horrible fashion!" Misa declared, heading towards the door, "I'm going to my place to get her some clothes. Mogi, drive me!" Mogi sighed tiredly and followed her to the door.

"Does Mogi ever sleep?" Light asked.

"I don't think so," Soichiro shook his head, "He may not even be human."

Suddenly, Mika pointed to Soichiro, who was at his desk working, and said, "Soichiro." Everyone stared in surprise.

"Wow!" Matsuda exclaimed, "She knows your name!"  
"I don't understand," L muttered, "I didn't teach her your names." Mika pointed to Aizawa.

"Aizawa!" she chirped. She pointed to Matsuda, "Matsuda!"

"She learned our names," Aizawa said in disbelief, "How could she know our names?"  
"Mika is a fast learner," L said as he observed the girl from underneath him, "She probably heard me use your names before. She's picking up the language at an alarming rate." Suddenly, Mika pointed a finger at Light.

"Flouncing moron!" she smiled. Everyone blinked. Matsuda stifled a snort of laughter, as did Aizawa. Soichiro raised his eyebrows towards his son.

"Well, maybe she needs more lessons," L said quietly, patting Mika on the head. Light narrowed his eyes at the detective.  
"I'm going to murder you in your sleep," Light muttered.

"Up by ten percent."  
"Go to hell!"

"Hey, Ryuzaki," Matsuda piped up, "If she's learning so fast, why don't you teach her some new words? Take a break from work and teach her." Mika looked up at L and smiled.

"No," L said suddenly, sitting back down in his chair and staring at his laptop screen, "There's no time to waste. We must track down all our Kira suspects."

Then he felt it; that same hand gripping on his sleeve again. He turned his head downward to see Mika clutching at his sleeve and smiling.

"Ryuzaki…," she smiled. L looked down at the child, then to Light, then at the rest of the investigative team behind him.

"Fine," he muttered, grabbing a bag of gummy worms next to the computer and yanking Light up the stairs, Mika following obediently.

"You know, Ryuzaki does work hard," Matsuda said after some time, "Maybe this girl will make him relax."

"I don't know," Soichiro said quietly, "Something doesn't seem right about her."

"Television."

Mika pointed to a stack of books on the coffee table.

"Books."

She pointed to a fruit bowl set on top of the kitchen counter,

"Apple. Banana. Orange."

She pointed to Light, who was sitting on the couch reading, and said happily, "Flouncing moron!"

"Dammnit, Ryuzaki!" Light yelled, throwing down his book, "Stop teaching her bad things!"

"I told her that your name was Light," L droned as he clacked away on his laptop next to Light, "But she wouldn't listen. I guess she likes that name better."

"Hmph," Light folded his arms and watched as Mika pointed from one thing to another saying, "Window. Floor. Ceiling. Door. Couch. Laptop." Finally, out of things to point at, she pointed at herself and happily declared, "Mika!"

"Wow, she is learning fast," Light said in wonder, "And her accent is flawless, just like before. I wonder if she forgot how to speak Japanese or something."

"Very good Mika," L said quietly, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a strawberry, "You have earned this."

"Ew, Ryuzaki!" Light sneered as L handed the lint-covered strawberry to the girl, "That's disgusting!"

"She hasn't eaten anything since she came here," L said.

"What!?" Light exclaimed, "You're _starving _her!?" L blinked at the flustered teen.

"She didn't ask for any food," L shrugged.

"She can't speak Japanese!" Light yelled.

However, Mika didn't eat the strawberry. She merely looked at it with wide eyes.

"What…is…this?" she asked slowly.

"Wow, she's even talking in complete sentences," Light marveled.

"That is a strawberry, Mika," L explained, "It's very tasty. Go ahead and eat it." Mika merely studied the strawberry, before wrinkling her nose and looking up at L.

"Eat?" she asked, "What is…eat?"

Silence ensued.

"Um," Light stalled, looking at the detective next to him, "What the hell?"

"Mika," L said, confused to say the least, "Eating is when you consume food. Surely you've eaten before, yes?" Mika stared at the strawberry in her hands before handing it back to L.

"No," she finally said, "Mika does not eat."

More silence.

"Ooookay," Light said, taking the strawberry from Mika's hand, "I guess we can safely say that this girl is--" Light suddenly yelped as L smacked his hand, retrieving his strawberry and eating it.

"Don't take my food, Light," L muttered through the strawberry. Light huffed and crossed his arms.

Suddenly, L's cell phone began to ring from his pocket.

"Cell phone!" Mika chirped happily, "Mika knows what that is." L took the cell phone from his pocket and held it to his ear in his usual two-fingered way.

"Yes, okay Watari," L confirmed before shutting it, "Amane should be here in about two-" A loud knocking came from outside the door.

"Light! Open up! It's Misa! Is that pervert in there!? Tell him to go away!"

Mika watched as Light walked over with L behind him and opened the door. The blonde launched herself at Light again, only this time she was followed by a torrent of shopping bags.

"Hi Light!" she sang, "I missed you so much today!"

"You've been gone for a half an hour," Light said slowly.

"I know!" Mika said dramatically as L stood off to the corner quietly, "But look! I have all these old clothes that I got for free at photo shoots!" She suddenly raced over to Mika and began pulling different things out of the bags.

"Oh, she would look so cute as a little Lolita! How about this? Do you like this, Mika?"

She handed Mika a simple looking (well, simple in Misa's eyes) black dress adorned with black bows and white ruffles around the thin straps and hem. Mika looked at it in her hands and her eyes instantly lit up.

"Pretty!" she exclaimed, hugging the dress L watched her curiously. As strange as she seemed, she seemed to act like a normal girl sometimes.

"Come on, Mika," Misa grabbed Mika's hand and led he to one of the room with the shopping bags.

"You know," Light said after some time, "Sometimes I almost forget that Mika's—well—human. I mean, with those funny looking ears and the way she talks, and the way she won't eat, she almost seems like something else. But the way she hugged that dress looking so happy—she seemed like an ordinary girl."

"My thoughts exactly," L said, much to Light's surprise, "I cannot say what exactly he history is, but she's learning Japanese at an incredible rate. Once she learns enough to speak fluently, we can ask her all sorts of questions."

Misa soon came out of the bedroom with Mika behind her.

"Doesn't Mika look cute?" Misa gushed. Mika stepped out from behind Misa, wearing the black dress from earlier.

"Wow, it looks great on you, Mika," Light said in wonder, "Don't you think so, Ryuzaki?" L merely blinked at Mika.

"It suits her," he muttered before dragging Light over to his laptop.

"Suits…me?" Mika asked, looking up at Misa.

"He said it looks good on you," Misa explained to her before glaring at Ryuzaki, "Although he could have said it nicer."

Mika looked down at the dress for a while before aruptly rushing over to clamp herself onto L's leg. L gave a slight noise of surprise.

"Thank you, Ryuzaki!" she said into his pant leg. L looked down in surprise at the girl. He didn't do anything, did he?

"Uh—you're welcome," he finally said, "But isn't there something you want to say to Amane?" Mika blinked up at L, before turning to Misa and running over to hug her.

"Thank you, Misa!" she smiled.

"She likes to hug a lot," Light observed.

"You're welcome, Mika!" Misa smiled, "Oh, she's just too cute! You better be nice to her, Ryuzaki!"

"Hm," L mumbled, his eyes on the laptop screen, "I am nice."

"Yes, you are," Light glared at the detective while holding up the dangling handcuff on his wrist.

It was late at night. L was on his bed, tapping away at his laptop while Light snored next to him. It was bout three in the morning, and he himself was quite tired, but he had lost so much time working today, he didn't want to stop now. Merely grabbing a handful of gummy bears and stuffing them into his mouth, he continued to look up names on the internet and read news articles. Realizing that he was out of candy, he briefly un-locked the handcuff on his wrist and locked it onto the bedpost, rendering Light's possible escape. He shuffled out of the door and into the living room, hunting for more candy.

However, when he got into the living room, he saw Mika standing in the middle of the room in front of the TV. L blinked; he thought he left he sleeping on the couch. She may had refused to eat, but she fell asleep shortly after Misa left and had been sleeping ever since. L slowly walked over, but Mika did not turn around to see him, nor did she make any noise at all.

"Mika?" L yawned, standing next to her as she stared at the blank TV screen, "Are you awake? Do you want to come in the bedroom so you're not alone?"

Mika did not respond. She continued to stare off into space. Her ears were now slightly perked up, moving in different directions. Confused, L walked around to stand in front of her. He saw that her blue eyes had been replaced with a glowing, ghostly white color, her expression blank. Her white eyes illuminated the room slightly. Now fully woken up, L became slightly fearful. He didn't know what to do. She didn't respond when he called her name at all; she just stared up into space blankly, as if she was dreaming.

"Mika!" L suddenly yelled, grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking her slightly, "Mika! Wake up!"

In an instant, Mika blinked her eyes open, the blue color reappearing. Her grey ears went limp at the sides of her head. She looked up at Ryuzaki with wide eyes.

"R…Ryuzaki?" she asked quietly. L looked at her before breathing a sigh of relief.

"Mika…don't scare me like that," he finally said breathlessly, "I was scared to death about you." Suddenly, Mika lost her surprised expression and her eyes suddenly welled up with the same upset feeling she had when L mentioned the orphanage.

"No!" she suddenly yelled.

L looked down at her in surprise. She had never yelled at him before; let alone anything. She suddenly wrapped her arms around L's leg and buried her face into his pant leg.

"I don't want Ryuzaki to die," she murmured sadly, "Mika doesn't want Ryuzaki to stop moving. Mika wants Ryuzaki to stay here and keep teaching her new things. Don't die."

L stared down at he girl in surprise before laying a hand on her head. He had no idea that she would react this way to such a comment, and it scared him slightly. When he touched Mika's head, Mika brought her head up to connect her blue eyes with his black ones.

"I'm not going to die, Mika," L said quietly, "Don't worry. I was just scared, that's all." Mika was silent, looking up at L before letting go of his leg and nodding.

L never did get around to getting his candy, but he ended up working away at his laptop again, Mika curled up next to him on the bed. Ryuzaki though, for once couldn't concentrate.

_What happened back there? It was as if Mika was in a trance of some sort. I was so worried about her reaction to the comment I made about death that I forgot to ask her what happened back there…Well…I guess I can ask her in the morning._

He looked down at the sleeping silver-haired girl next to him and looked back at his laptop screen.

_She truly is a mystery. _


	4. Chapter 4

**Guardian**

"Sekimaru Crop's vice-president of Development, Roppei Tamiya, Aoi Industries' director of integrated systems, Kouji Aoi, and former Yotsuba vice-president, Takeyoshi Amoriya. These were all the leaders of important industries in the business world, until they all coincidently died of heart attacks…Light, are you following me?"  
Light opened his eyes.

"…Um…," he stalled. L grit his teeth and held back a sigh.

"Grr."

L looked over to see Mika sitting on the couch next to him, imitating him by gritting her teeth and growling.

"I think Mika's part dog," Light smiled, picking up one of Mika's limp ears, "These things are so weird…do you think they're made out of fur, or something else?"

"Light, we have no time to worry about your obsessions," L droned, turning his coal black eyes to his laptop screen, "We have to work."

"We have to work," Mika repeated.

"I know," Light said, leaning over to gather a stack of papers on the coffee table in front of him, "But ever since you mentioned what happened last night, I've been wondering about her. I mean, face it, she is strange. She won't eat, she speaks Latin, and she has fur covered ears!"

"Ears!" Mika pointed to her ears.

"I realize that, Light," L said monotonously, "But right now, I would like to concentrate on the case." L clicked on something and brought up a page full of pictures.

"Hey," Light said, looking at the screen as he leaned over on the couch, "Are those the people you were just talking about?"

"Precisely," the detective nodded towards the teen, "All of them have died of heart attacks. What do you make of that?" Light narrowed his eyes.

"I'm guessing Kira's power has been handed to someone in the business industry," Light studied the pictures thoughtfully, "And they're probably using their power to get rid of competition."

"My thoughts exactly," L nodded, "We're getting somewhere with this."

Suddenly, Mika leaned forward so that she was wedged in between L and Light. She looked at the laptop with big eyes. Then, she pointed a finger to one of the pictures, saying, "Kouji…Aoi."

L and Light looked at her; speechless.

"H…How does she…know his name?" Light asked in disbelief.

L didn't know what to say. He couldn't imagine how Mika would know the name of the man. There was no name under the profile picture. He hadn't shown a picture of him before.

_Could this be linked to the fact that she knew Matsuda's, Aizawa's, and Soichiro's name?_

"…Mika," L said slowly, turning to face her.

"Yes?" Mika asked. L pointed to another picture.

"Do you know this man's name?" L asked. Mika looked at the picture, responding immediately, "Roppei Tamiya. That's what it says."

L blinked. "Where does it say that?" he asked quickly. Mika looked at the detective, before pointing to the picture on the screen.

"There," she said, "Roppei Tamiya. The name is written right there, but it doesn't have…um…the numbers…Mika cannot see the numbers…"

Light looked at L in disbelief.

"What the hell is she talking about?" he asked, "What numbers? And I don't see a name there."

"Light," L said quickly, his eyes still on Mika, "Do you remember when Mika said the names of Matsuda, Soichiro, and Aizawa?" Light thought for a minuet.

"Y…yeah," he nodded, "But…are you saying…she can read minds or something?" L said nothing at first, but leaned down slightly so that he was eye level with Mika. She blinked back at him.

"Ryuzaki smells like candy," she smiled.

"Mika," L said deliberately, his eyes boring with determination, "Are you—a human?"

"What!?" Light exclaimed, standing up off the couch, "Ryuzaki, what kind of question is that!?"  
L didn't respond. He only stared back at Mika, waiting for an answer. The young girl looked at L somewhat worriedly, her eyes questioning. She cocked her head slightly, looking into the detective's eyes before saying, "No. Mika is not a human."

L stared off into space. He wasn't hungry. He wasn't tired. He wasn't bored. He wasn't even working. He was thinking.

_Not a human…obviously, she's a human. I mean, besides the ears, she looks just like a young girl. She talks like one, she acts like one…she feels like one, doesn't she? I mean, obviously she reacts to things a little differently, but she's just a little naïve I suppose. But still…_

The detective rubbed his chin in thought.

_The poor girl probably doesn't know what she's saying. Mika wouldn't make something up. She has no reason to. Unless she was told by someone else to lie about such a ludicrous thing. I wonder where her parents are…or if she has any. From the look she gave me when I mentioned the orphanage…_

L let out a deep sigh and hid his head in his hands.

_Even if Mika doesn't act like a normal human, and doesn't really look like one either, she still has feelings. Even I can see that. But does she even know that she has these feelings? Is she aware of what she is, and where she's from?_

"Ryuzaki?"

L felt a small hand tug on his sleeve. He quickly lifted his head and looked over to see Mika looking up at him hopefully with her blue eyes.

"Ryuzaki, you look sad," she frowned, her eyes glistening again, "Does Ryuzaki have a tummy ache?"

Ryuzaki blinked at the girl before saying tiredly, "No, Mika, everything is fine." He looked at the clock by the TV that flickered in the dim room.

"It's getting late," he muttered, "Shouldn't you be getting to bed?"

"Mika wants to be here," the silver-haired girl chirped, swinging her feet happily off the edge of the couch. L sighed slightly while opening his laptop.

"So be it," he said quietly, focusing on the glowing screen. It was quiet for a while as Mika's wide eyes watched the television screen. L didn't know why she was so fascinated with the TV. Surely she had one?

_I wonder if Mika's from another country…or continent…or…planet. She's certainly odd enough to be from a different universe, that's for sure. Not eating? Seeing names? Animal-like ears? Not human? Just what on earth is she?_

"Ryuzaki!"

L jumped slightly, grabbing onto his laptop so it wouldn't fall off the couch. He turned to glare at Mika.

"What is it?" he asked, somewhat irritated at the sudden disturbance. Mika stared up at him, now kneeling next to him and staring up at his eyes. Suddenly, she fell onto L's chest, resting the side of her face against him.

"Mika hears a thump-thump here," she said, indicating L's chest, "What's that? Did you eat a puppy?"

L breathed a sigh, looking down at Mika awkwardly as she pressed her pointed fur ear to his chest. He shifted slightly, trying to find the right words.

"Its—my heart," he explained, "A heart is an organ in the body that pumps blood."

"…H-heart?" Mika repeated, looking up at L.

"Yes," L confirmed, "Without it, the body is lifeless," he stuck a thumb in his mouth, "But I guess that goes for the brain as well. And the lungs. And the liver."

Mika cocked her head slightly, narrowing her eyes. L looked at her; confused.

"...Mika doesn't have a thumping in her chest," she suddenly said, cradling her hands to her chest. L watched as her eyes met his. She looked surprised; almost worried.

But L was far more concerned about what she said.

"Of course you do, Mika," he said dismissively, "Everybody has one. It's right here." He put his hand on Mika's chest, hoping to convince her of this silly mistake, but to his surprise, could not feel the reassuring pulsing beat that he expected. Instead, Mika looked down at his hand on her chest and said, "Hee hee. That tickles."

L's face flushed and he quickly pulled away, clearing his throat.

"Well—you're very small," he managed to get out, "I mean—you know, you're heart—you're heart it small. Maybe it's harder to hear yours. But don't worry; it's nothing to be afraid of." L turned back to his computer, his composure regained. He played it off as if not hearing someone's heart beat to the touch happened all the time, but he too was slightly unnerved. Mika was quiet for a while, looking down at the spot where L had touched, staring at it for a while. L was clacking away innocently on his laptop. A loud snore next to him reminded him that Light was still chained to him, sleeping next to him on the couch.

_I nearly forgot about Light. Must he always sleep while I'm working? I'm actually pretty tired myself. Maybe I should take a break…_

"Mika heard the television say that people love with their hearts."

L turned his head to the side to meet the eyes of Mika. She was still kneeling in front of L, her big eyes staring back at his.

"…Come again?" was all L could say.

"Television," Mika pointed to the TV, which was blinking with advertisements, not unlike the city surrounding their office building, "It said that people love with their hearts…,"

_Damn those TV shows._

Mika looked at the ground, shifting slightly, "Mika doesn't have a heart—Mika can't hear it. Mika doesn't know what love is, but…if I don't have a heart…does that mean I can't love?"

L was truly at a loss of words for this question. L may be the world's top detective, but he openly admitted that he knew nothing about human emotions. He rarely experienced the roller-coaster of emotions that Light went through almost every day; how could he know anything about love?

It took a while for L to clear his throat and turn his eyes back to his screen, pretending to type.

"It's—hard to explain," he managed to get out, "Some people say that we love with our hearts. Personally, I think it's just a chemical in our DNA to drive us into finding a mate and reproducing," he looked over at Mika, who blinked at him innocently, "…But, that doesn't concern you," he finished light-heartedly, "All you need to know about love is that…," How could he explain this? "…Love is…when two people find special things about each other that they like…"

L didn't know if this was what love really was, but if Mika didn't know, then he didn't really have to explain it all that well.

"…Oh," was all Mika said. She resumed her quiet state again. L was about to happily return to his work when Mika said, "Is love when someone likes the other person very much?"

_Didn't I explain it well enough?_

"I…would say so," L nodded, quickly turning back to his laptop. Mika was silent again.

"Does Ryuzaki love someone?" she asked, cocking her head. L coughed inadvertently, causing Mika to jump, and kept his eyes on the screen.

_Must she keep peppering me with these questions?_

"…N-no…," L said hesitantly, "I can't say that I do."

Silence resumed.

"…Ryuzaki?"

"What is it this time?" L turned towards the girl, trying to control his voice. Usually it was Light who made him act this way, but at the moment, he was passed out next to the detective.

Mika blinked back at L innocently before saying softly, "Does Ryuzaki think Mika can find a special person that she likes very much?"

Ryuzaki hid a sigh in his hands as he closed his eyes.

_Why does she have to ask such questions with those innocent blue eyes of hers?_

"I-I really don't know, Mika," L muttered, staring at his laptop. Silence resumed again. Thankful, L returned to his work, tapping away at the keyboard. He expected Mika to ask another question, but he did not receive one. Finally, somewhat curious, he turned to look at Mika.

She was still in her kneeling position, facing him, only her eyes were on the floor. They were serene and somber; glistening. It could have been the reflection of the television that was still blinking in the somewhat dimmed room, but it made L's heart throb in a way.

That mournful look.

"…Mika…," L started, looking at her deeply now. Her eyes shot up to look at his, awaiting his words. L felt a pang of empathy when she hid her sorrow from him. He hated to see her sad, but he really didn't know how to respond to such questions. No one had ever asked him questions about love before, and for the first time in a long time, he felt vulnerable and afraid.

Of a little girl. A dog girl.

"…I…I didn't mean what I said," L said slowly, watching Mika's eyes lock into his inquisitively, "What I meant to say was…" The things I do to make children happy, "…You may not have a beating heart…but…love is something different. People find love in the strangest ways, I'm told, so I suppose anyone could find love. Including you."

Mika blinked. L blinked.

_Did I say something wrong?_

"…But I suppose you're much too young for that," L finished, giving the girl a pat on the head. He assumed he was finished, and, relieved, gladly turned to his work. He took Mika's blank expression as one of comprehension. He was about to nudge Light off of him and tell him to get to work, when he felt something soft press against his arm. Startled, he turned to the side to see the silver-haired girl nestling her face into his arms, her small hands gripping onto the shirt sleeve.

"Thank you, Ryuzaki," she said quietly, smiling up at him. L, obviously taken aback, stared down at her smiling face. Was she…blushing? L could tell, but she had the slightest pink tint around her nose. He felt himself squirm a bit as she nestled into his sleeve, but he couldn't deny that she looked awful cute.

She looked so happy, too.

"You're…welcome," L muttered, patting her head. But instead of going back to work and waking up Light, he stayed in that position, looking out through the window at the blinking city lights, Light dozing next to him and Mika cuddling into his arm, his hand on her head. The television had been turned off, and it was quiet, except for the soft breathing of Mika and Light. L felt calm; he hadn't felt that way in a while. He could feel Mika's warmth breath on his arm, the rise and fall of her chest. This feeling was new to him, but he liked it. He wanted it to stay.

"Don't worry, Mika," Ryuzaki whispered as the silver-haired girl drifted off to sleep, "You're not going anywhere. You don't have to worry about being abandoned again. You're going to stay right here with me."

He leaned back onto the couch and closed his eyes before saying, "I'll protect you from now on. I'll be you're Guardian. You're safe here, Mika, with me."

"Has she contacted you yet?" the woman turned to the creature next to her.

"Nope," he shrugged, holding onto his scythe tighter as the wind rushed past them, "Hasn't said a word. Either she's forgotten all about me, or…," he trailed off, looking into the distant skies.

"She could be in trouble," the woman whispered, her wind swept silver hair flowing across her face. The creature looked up at her with a different look. He knew she was worried.

"You know what to do," she turned to him, her eyes bold and narrowed. The creature sighed, putting the hood of his black cloak over his hears.

"Yes," he nodded, grinning with his long, pointed fangs, "Don't worry; I'll get her back."

In the middle of the night, L had fallen asleep, Light's head resting on his shoulder slightly. The two had fallen into a deep slumber, not to awake for a long time.

On the couch next to them, Mika was sitting upright. Her hands were cradled to her chest, her eyes closed. A soft white light illuminated her slightly. A faint smile was on her face.

"…Love…," she said quietly, holding her hands to her chest tighter, her soft smile remaining, "Someone special just for me…"

She opened her eyes and looked out at the city lights through the window. The faint light around her remained as she opened her milky white eyes before whispering,

"He's coming…"


	5. Chapter 5

**Viva la Cody**

Work. Work. Work. Work.

L stopped briefly to rub his eyes. How long had he been working? Six, seven hours straight? And all he was doing was reading over news reports on the Internet of recent killings by Kira.

_This Kira is costing me my life_, L thought grimly, turning back to the laptop screen. He rubbed his eyes once more and tried to focus on the blurred numbers before his eyes.

_Not that I had much of one to begin with_.

The sleep-deprived detective looked up to see the young teen seated at the couch next to him. He had Mika on his lap, and was moving his finger from side to side in front of her face, watching her blue eyes follow his finger.

"Light…," L sighed and slid a hand down his face.

"Hm?" Light turned to L and smiled.

"…What are you doing?" L asked through a yawn.

"Just playing around with Mika," Light smiled, moving his finger in front of Mika's face as she watched his eyes, "She has good reflexes." L watched curiously as Light continued to move his finger in front of Mika's eyes. The silver-haired girl watched with interest when Light pressed his finger against her small nose, wrinkling it as he did so.

"Light has taken an interest in Mika," L noted quietly.

"She's cute," Light smiled, Mika taking hold of Light's finger with her tiny hand and bringing it to her mouth, "I mean, I had my doubts at first, but she's polite, smart, and can do all so-ow, ow! Ow, what the hell! Stop it! Stop it, you bitch!"

"Light, do not address Mika as such," L scolded, quickly getting up and picking Mika up off the couch. She had begun to chew on Light's finger and had left a considerable amount of bite marks. Light inspected his finger.

"Okay," he announced, getting up abruptly and heading towards the bathroom, "That's it. I take back what I said about her. She is not cute, smart, or polite. She's a nasty little runt."

"I'm sure Mika didn't to hurt you," L said quietly as Light stomped off. He looked down at the little girl in his arms. She was holding onto L's arms and swinging her feet slightly. When he looked down at her, Mika looked up at him with those big blue eye and smiled.

"Mika's teeth itched," she pointed to her teeth, then looked up at L questioningly, "Did Mika do a bad thing?" L was about to respond when he heard Light screamed from the bathroom, "Aah! She broke the skin! I'm bleeding! Dammnit, where's that antibiotic cream!? Ryuzaki, help me!"

L looked down at Mika and patted her head.

"No, Mika. You did nothing wrong."

"Hee," Mika smiled up at him.

"I don't care if she didn't mean any harm!" Light snapped, bringing up a band-aid covered finger to point accusingly at Mika, "She's not human! She's a freak!"

"…Freak?" Mika cocked her head at the angered teen.

"Yes, you!" Light turned his finger towards Mika, instantly withdrawing it when she opened her mouth.

"Light, please stop shouting," L droned, unplugging his own fingers from his ears, "Mika wasn't trying to hurt you; she just needs to learn more social skills." Light gaped at the detective next to him on the couch.

"What, like your going to teach her?!" he almost shrieked, "Look at you!"

L looked down at himself.

"You wear the same freakin' clothes every day, you're appearance is enough to make anyone not come near you, you stare at lap top screens all day, you sit like a monkey, and you're holding a ice cream cone topped with sugar cubes!"

L stared at the dripping ice cream cone in his hand, blinked, and turned back to Light.

"Anything else?" he asked quietly.

"God, you're annoying!" Light shouted, standing up, "You say I'm annoying, but you have no idea how unbearable it is to live with you!"

"Fell free to move out," L snapped abruptly, suddenly remembering that Light was his prime suspect.

"Fine!" Light declared with a dramatic hand motion, stomping towards the door. L quickly brought his foot out to land in front of Light, who tripped over it also dramatically, rolling on the floor seven times. Mika, from her seat on the couch, watched the scene before her unroll.

"You jerk! What the hell was that about!?"

"Need I remind you that you are my prime suspect as Kira!?"

"Ugh, god, not this again! How many times do I have to tell you, I'm not Kira!"  
"Yes, Light, you're said that fifty two times since we came here, but that doesn't make you not Kira!"  
"Maybe if you weren't so paranoid about me being Kira, we could be getting somewhere with this case!"

"Maybe if Light would actually get up and do some work, we would be on track!"  
"You ruined my life!"  
"Oh god, not this again."

"I hate you!"

"Five percent!"  
"Gaaah!"

Light launched himself at L and the two went rolling onto the floor, shouting out curses and throwing out punches. Mika, now slightly worried, watched the two helplessly roll around in L's dropped ice cream. She covered her furry ears with two hands and closed her eyes, whimpering softly.

"Please stop, please stop," she whispered, shaking her head.

Suddenly, she opened her eyes and lifted her head, a small gasp coming from her mouth.

A loud piercing crash from one of the windows next to the TV as something barreled through it, causing the glass to shatter and spread everywhere. The two males on the ground ceased their fighting, Light letting out a small scream.

"What was that?" L asked blankly, staring at the window.

"What the hell?!" Light yelled in fright, scrambling off L and ending up sitting on the floor. L immediately stood up, and as if on cue, Mika jump off the couch and hid behind L, gripping onto his pant leg. L looked down at Mika cowering behind him and peered back at what had landed through the window.

Whatever had flown through the window and broke it was now writhing on the floor, its black form groaning and spitting out curses and probably glass as well. When it finally sat up, it stared around at its surroundings and muttered, "Yep. This is definitely not the right house."

"Who the hell are you!?" Light snapped, springing up from the couch. L blinked; this he knew was definitely not a human. The creature looked almost like a mythical Shinigami, but much smaller. It had dog like features, but the body of a weasel; a large black cloak shrouding most of its body. It wasn't any bigger than Mika, who was small enough so that her head touched just above the waist of most adults.

The creature shook itself free of all the glass while Light continued to gawk at it, L merely looking at it but not showing as much reaction as his roommates. Suddenly, before Light could yell at the weird thing to get the hell out of his apartment, the creature's eyes rested on something behind Light.

"Ah-ha!" it snapped, pointing a clawed finger towards whatever he had spotted, "_Found you!_" Light was confused and slightly scared at the moment, until he looked behind him to see the silver haired girl hiding behind the detective, poking her head out worriedly and looking at the creature.

"I knew you'd be here!" the creature continued in a tone that was mixed with triumphant air and annoyance as he shuffled in his black cloak towards her, "You little runt, you think you can-"

The creature was cut off in his speech as he bumped into something. Annoyed, he looked up to see a dark haired and shadow-eyed man staring down at him almost menacingly, boring his dark eyes into the creatures.

"Excuse me, but is there something you want to say to Mika?" L inquired, still staring down at the small creature, who was somewhat intimidated by the human that was looking down at him.

Light was slightly intimidated as well; he had never seen L act so dominant. Mika noticed it too, and watched with wide eyes, clinging to L's leg.

"Uh, hey, hey, no worries," the creature's piped up nervously, rubbing the back of its head sheepishly, "No harm done to her, right? She's good. It's all good. I'm a friend of hers, right, Mika?"

L looked at Mika below him, asking for confirmation. Mika looked up at L nervously, then looked over at the creature, muttering slightly, "You dummy. You're supposed to use the door."

"Oh, what, like you're so great!?" the creature suddenly snapped, "You can't even fly properly yet! I suppose the fact that you have that frickin' little halo above your head gives you superiority over me, right? What's he council gonna say when they see humans with your kind!? You're supposed to be a secret, y'know!" L looked at Mika.

_Halo? Fly?_

"Excuse me, but what the hell is going on?" Light asked, completely befuddled as he stood next to L to face the angel and demon creature, which abruptly stopped and turned around to glare at the humans above him.

Mika got out from behind L and folded her arms begrudgingly at the demon in front of her.

"This," she sighed exasperatingly, laying out a hand to present her friend, "Is Cody."

"Wazzup," the creature drawled, raising a hand through his cloak towards the humans.

"C-Cody?" Light questioned, still slightly disturbed by the thing that was in their apartment room, "But…who is he?" Mika looked at the weasel in front of her, who was still gnashing his teeth at her angrily, then looked up at Light.

"He's my…um…a person who looks after me." Mika looked up as she tried to find the right words.

"You mean a…guardian?" L asked quietly. He looked at the creature. He couldn't believe a thing like this was real, let alone in his room. What connection did he have to Mika? What was he? What was she?

"You…know Mika?" L asked, somewhat begrudgingly.

"Uh, yeah!" Cody snapped, "I've been watching this kid since before she was born! And let me tell you, it's been a tough job! Her mother practically killed me when I told her that Mika was missing. She threw a fit! I had to go searching for her, and when I called her, she didn't answer back for what ever reason!"

_That night…her white eyes…_

"Mika is sorry, Cody," Mika suddenly said, hanging her head a bit.

"Damn right you're sorry!" Cody snapped, "And why the hell are you talking like that?"

"Just what the hell are you?" Light suddenly asked. Mika looked up at Light.

"Cody is…um…what do you call them?" Mika put a finger to her chin, looking up, "Ah, yes. A reaper. Like a Shinigami, only shorter."

_Shinigami…._

"Hey! Watch your mouth!" Cody snapped towards Mika, "I'm almost taller than you! And I'm a reaper, not a demon!" Mika merely wrinkled her nose and boldly stuck her tongue out at him. L almost wanted to smile, seeing Mika act this way. He was beginning to see he personality shine through.

"Whoa…reaper?" Light asked, thoroughly freaked out, "You mean…those things are real?!"  
"Of course they're real," Cody scoffed, turning to the blanched teen, before sighing and saying slowly to the detective and Light, "Look, I know you humans don't believe in us, but the fact is, Shinigami, reapers, demons, and angels…do exist."

L stared at the creature, and then Mika. Her blue eyes, her ears, her silver hair…

It was all piecing together.

"…So… then…," Light asked awkwardly, "What is…Mika?"

L turned to the demon.

"She's an angel," Cody said, with out missing a beat.

_Angel…_

L stared at Light. Light looked back at L, horrified. Mika stood in between the two silently.

"…What?" Cody asked, looking at the two, "You two didn't already figure that out?"

"T-this is insane," Light breathed, bringing up a shaking hand to touch his pale forehead.

"What? You're that surprised?" Cody yelled in disbelief, "I was sure the wings would be a dead—oh, I get it. I forgot about that."

"What?" Light asked frantically.

"Y'see," Cody brought up a clawed paw to scratch the back of his furry head, "Humans can't see the wings and halo and angel has. I was sorta wondering why you were all surprised, and then I realized that you couldn't see the golden ring hovering above her head."

"W-what the hell are you talking about!?" Light stuttered, pointing to the calm looking girl in front of L, "Y-you mean she has wings!? And a halo!? What the hell is that!? How do we know you're not lying!? What if you're some—thing from the Yotsuba group and you're trying to kidnap her!?"

"I'm telling you, she's an angel!" Cody snapped back, "If angels didn't exist, neither would I!"

"Show us."

The quarreling man and beast turned to the solemn detective. He was looking down at the reaper, a cold look in his black eyes.

"...What?" Light asked quietly, looking at the man with wide eyes, "Ryuzaki…you can't be serious…"

"I have reason to believe that this creature isn't lying," L muttered, bringing up his index finger to rest on his bottom lip, "Not only does her appearance urge the question on, but she does not eat, she speaks Latin, and she can see the names of people."

Cody nodded approvingly, "See? The spook gets it."

"I…I don't know," Light said quietly, his face pale, "I mean…I can't believe you. I can't believe in something like that…I…I need proof."

Cody looked at Mika. Mika cocked her head at Cody in question. He sighed.

"Well, guess there's only one way," he sighed. Quickly, he took the scythe that was attacked to his cloak and raised it high in the air.

"H-hey…," Light said, holding out a hand, "What are you…"

Without a thought, Cody took hold of Mika's head and dug the scythe right between her eyes. Mika gasped and let out a little cry, her eyes wide as she watched the dark red blood drip down her nose. L was now exactly like Light; blanched and panic-stricken. They watched as the child they guarding for the last few days slumped to the floor, lying there lifeless, the blood trickling down her face.

"W…W…_What the hell is wrong with you!?_" Light screamed, dropping to his feet in front of her, "You killed her! You killed her! How could you!? Oh my god, how could you!?"

Cody said nothing. He merely stared down at the fallen angel. L's hands began to shake as an unfamiliar feeling began to well up inside him. He felt it harder to breathed. He closed his eyes tightly, opening them again to make sure it was real.

It was real. She was dead.

"You bastard!" Light suddenly roared, standing up to face the demon, "How could you, Dammnit!? _How could you!?_"

A stirring beneath the crazed teen woke him from his madness. L looked downward with glistening eyes and almost felt his heart stop.

The blood-stained girl was slowly inching her way up into a sitting position, her eyes now open. The dark red blood slid down her pale face as she looked back at the three, the blade still stuck firmly between her eyes. She brought out her small tongue to lick the dripping blood, her eyes narrowed at the demon who had done this to her.

Slowly, she breached up a blood soaked hand and gripped the blade's handle, quickly withdrawing it from her head with an unsettling snap. The shocked detective and horrified teen watched as the blood on her face slowly began to melt away into an invisible mist, the deep wound that was erupting blood moments before disappearing to leave her skin as fair looking as before.

She took a small breath, her sleek silver bangs overlapping her blue eyes. She dropped the blade to the floor with a clang, and turned to the reaper.

"That wasn't nice, Cody," she pouted.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Cody shrugged, giving the up fronted girl a soft reassuring pat on the head, "But what was I supposed to do? It was the only way they'd believe that you weren't human. Any human would die from that, right?"

Mika looked over at L and Light. She paused when she saw their blanched faces and their wide eyes.

"Light? Ryuzaki?" Mika cocked her head, "Is something wrong?"

"Ryuzaki?" Cody questioned, looking at the child, "What the hell are you talking about? His name is-"

Before Cody could finish his sentence, Light suddenly swooned and fell to the floor with a loud thump. Mika jumped a bit, while L stared down at him curiously, Cody letting out a snort of laughter.

"Light?" Mika asked worriedly. L looked down at his passed out companion before looking at Mika. He couldn't believe that just moments before, she was lying there, lifeless, her porcelain skin stained with blood, the blade embedded in her head. Now she was looking up at him with those crystal blue eyes, that small smile on her face.

She really was something else.

"…Cody," L said quietly, his voice shaking slightly as he turned to stare at the new creature. The creature stopped laughing and turned to look at him.

"Tell me everything."

Cody looked at the man oddly, but didn't question him when he saw Mika smiling at him.

"Give me some of that ice cream on the floor, and I'll tell you everything you'll need to know."

* * *

Thegriffin88 says: Cody is mine. I named him Cody because every Cody I ever knew was a jerk, like him. :)

Spookthemook says: I was looking at a copy of Shojo Beat the other day and saw a manga on the cover titled Guardian Angel, showing your average school girl, except she was holding a gun. That's pretty boss if you ask me. I'd like to draw a picture of Mika aiming a gun; I think it'd look kinda cool. :)


	6. Chapter 6

How to: Angels

"Mika probably doesn't remember it, since she was pretty young when it happened, but the shinigami and the angels had been in a war for thousands, and I mean thousands, of years. It was a terrible war, let me tell you. I saw the type of things that make you the soul eating person you are today. But Mika's mother, Tseyka Miyoko, is the leader of the Angel Army, or AA. No reason as to why it's in English except for the fact that it sounds better. Anyway, the war has died down now, but with this Kira lurking around, things are still pretty bad. They say you can only kill a shinigami by making them fall in love, and that's true, but what they don't tell you is that many shinigami actually fell in love with angels. So when the time came for battle, when they saw their loved ones, they couldn't help but kill themselves. Angels can really put the heartthrob on you. It was all a deception on their part; angels can't love."

L looked down at the girl next to him. She looked up at L and merely gave her usual soft smile.

"They can't love?" he asked quietly. Light had been transferred to the bedroom where he lay passed out on the bed.

"Nope," Cody shook his head, "But I bet, being with her for a few days, you've already fallen for her, huh?"

L's head shot up so that his eyes met Cody's.

"What?" he asked, surprised to say the least, and slightly flustered, "I-I don't…like Mika in that way. I admit, I have taken a somewhat liking to her, but I—I've never—I mean…"

Cody gave a soft chuckle and licked the remaining ice cream off his mouth, "Yep. Sure, buddy. Whatever you say." L narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the reaper. A minute ago he had been having a normal fight with Light. Now he was talking face to face with a reaper; someone from the world of the dead.

"I wouldn't be surprised if you fell in love with her," Cody shrugged, motioning to Mika who at the moment was studying her toes in interest, "I mean, look at her. What guy wouldn't want her? She's beautiful, she's obedient, and she can pretty much do anything you ask." Cody smirked again, "Anything. I'm actually surprised you didn't take advantage of her."

L suddenly grimaced sat up more, "Why would I want to do such a horrible thing? She's only twelve years old!"

"Ooh, tough crowd," Cody winced, stretching the collar of his cloak, "First off, yes, I'm surprised, but I wouldn't appreciate you fooling around with the angel I've been assigned to protect. I mean, she's an angel for god's sake; they're all about purity. Second, Mika ain't no twelve year old. She's one hundred and sixty two years old." L nearly fell off his seat at that point, his eyes wide.

"O-one hundred and s-sixty!?" he gasped the words, "H-how can that be!? She looks so…so…"

"Hundred and sixty two," Cody corrected, "Dude, she's an angel," he leaned forward and drew out the words, "I really don't think you're getting this. The average angel lifespan is around a thousand years. Sure, Mika's young, but she ain't no twelve year old; even in your years. In human years, I'd say she's…well, a teenager. Maybe fifteen. Yeah, that sounds right."

"…W-well, I guess so," L leaned back, "I mean, I did notice she was…um….somewhat…developed."

"Hey! You said you didn't fool around with her!" Cody accused, pointing a finger.

"I did not have sexual relations with Mika," L droned through half-closed eye lids, "I merely gave her new clothes to wear, so I had to take them off, as you would imagine." Cody narrowed his eyes at the detective.

"Well, okay," he said slowly, "I was wondering why she was wearing that dress. But just because Mika's looks like some twelve year old with the body of a fifteen year old girl doesn't mean you that you can forget about her being an angel. I'm sure you've noticed the ears."

"Obviously," L droned, "Why is that?"

"Well, did you really think all angels looked like humans?" Cody asked, "Animals were here first; why do you think the pagans worshiped half-animal half-human gods? So, most angels have animal like features. They're not just genetic, by the way. An angel's ears can be used as a sort of homing device. You can speak to them mentally. That night you mention, when her eyes were white and she was unresponsive; that was me trying to contact her to get her back. I know they look a little odd to you humans. You just happened to land an angel from the Lupus clan."

"Lupus as in wolf," L nodded, while Cody rolled his eyes with a "duh", "So I would assume that all angels speak Latin," L suddenly said.

"Precisely," Cody nodded, "But angels can speak all languages known to man. See, I was worried, because when an angel has a serious injury, some of their memory can be wiped out. That's why I was freaked out when she was talking all broken Japanese. You have to be careful with angels. Oh, this one time, back at home, she must have been only about sixty years old at the time, she was running around the kitchen, and ran right into a wall, and she could only speak Spanish for a week. Ha, her mother was so angry at me."

"…Home?" L questioned after the reaper finished laughing. Cody looked at him in question.

"Uh…Heaven?"

L began to calculate percentages in his head. Heaven was real? If so, this death realm, or Hell, was real was well. Was religion actually overpowering science?

Maybe this is just some nightmare.

L slumped down the couch, exhaling softly.

"So Heaven and Hell are real?" he asked softly. Cody sighed as well.

"Look, human," he said deliberately, "I know this may sound crazy, since it's going against what they teach you back on the farm, but it's all real. I'm here to tell you that there is a Heaven and Hell, and they're not that different to the world that you live in. There's buildings in Heaven, I'll give you that."

L nodded, comprehending everything.  
"About the language thing," L continued heavily, "Will she…ever learn it again?"

"Hmm," Cody tapped his chin with a clawed finger. He seemed to be thinking deeply.

"Well, it should. I'm sure you've noticed that she's remembering words you never taught her. You're a real sport trying to teach her Japanese, by the way. She'll probably just regain her memories, but it'll take a while. I could try to restore the memories back into her mind, but that would be a big strain on her, and I don't wanna take that risk, being that her mother is already giving me hell for losing her."

L nodded, when a thought struck his mind.

What was she doing out there on that stormy night, anyway?

"…Cody," L asked suddenly, folding his hands in front of his face, "…Why did you send Mika to earth?"

Cody suddenly closed his mouth quickly. His eyes narrowed a bit, the beady black pools staring back at L's soot black eyes. He was quiet for a while, glancing over at Mika, who was now looking at him with her blue eyes.

"…Sorry," Cody suddenly said, a hint of stubbornness in his voice, "But that's classified. I'm not at liberty to tell you anything that goes on in the AA."

The detective was taken back slightly. He was, after all, the world's best detective, and yet some weasel-like creature was telling him that the information was "classified". It wasn't just his job to know anymore; he wanted to know. He wanted to know why he sent this girl out in a storm so that she could fall on his roof and end up with a concussion. He wanted to know why she was here, with him. He was almost angry at the reaper and wanted to shout at him.

But he didn't. He merely nodded.

"Anyway," Cody softened a bit and turned to Mika, "Mika seems alright. I'm not going to mention the whole memory loss to her mother, but as for everything I just told you," he suddenly turned to L, narrowing his eyes again, "You mustn't tell anybody that she's an angel. Mika's smart enough not to reveal her own identity, but I know you humans aren't always the brightest things. So, you must keep the fact that she's an angel under wraps, got it?"  
_That'll be a stretch_, L thought.

"So," Cody finished loudly, "Listen, I'm not exactly in the best condition to just haul Mika off to heaven, so she can stay here for a while. She seems to like you guy." He suddenly hopped off the couch and trudged across the living room floor with his black cloak trailing, "But, I don't exactly trust you guys, so I'm gonna stay here to make sure you don't kill her or anything."

Look who's talking.

"You're—just going to move in?" L asked. This did not seem like a good idea.

"Yeah, why not?" Cody grinned, "This place is huge. Don't worry, I'll keep myself hidden from the other peeps livin' here. Only you and that pansy need to know about me."

_Pansy? What the…oh, yes, Light. I nearly forgot about him._

"Plus…she seems happy."

L turned to Cody, "Excuse me?"

Cody nodded to Mika.

"She looks happy," Cody said again, his voice oddly quiet, "I thinks she likes it here. If Mika likes it here, so do I."

L sighed and bit a thumb between his teeth.

"Cody has a sixty-two percent chance of getting found out by the rest of the occupants here. If he stays in this room alone, he will have a thirty-seven percent chance."

"Cool," Cody said. L slowly got up and rubbed his aching back.

"Well, so bet it," he sighed, slouching into the bedroom where Light still lay unconscious, "You will share that room with Mika. Please keep yourself hidden and we will have no problems."

"Hey, La-I mean, Ryuzaki," the demon called out. As L began to exit the room, he turned around to watch the creature stride up to him.

"Listen," he said quietly, leaning up slightly to talk into L's ear, "I'm letting Mika stay here because she seems to like you guys. But no matter what," Cody stressed these words, "Don't fall in love with her. She'll only break your heart."

The man drew back slightly, looking at the reaper in question.

"W-what?" he asked, confused.

"Listen to me, I know how it is with you humans," Cody continued in a quiet voice, "But no matter how cute she is, or no matter how happy she makes you, don't fall in love with her. She will never be able to love you back."

L didn't know what to say. Him? In love? With Mika, of all people. It was ludicrious. How could he even fall in love with Mika?

Right now, he just wanted to sleep.

"I'll remember that," L said, before trudging into the bedroom where a sleeping Light awaited him.

Cody watched as L shut the door. He sighed to himself and walked over to the couch where Mika was. The angel suddenly jumped off the couch and wrapped her arms around the short demon..

"Mika missed Cody," she smiled into his cloak, "I'm sorry I didn't come back, but…I…" Mika stared down at her well known friend and stuck her tongue out, scratching her ear, "I guess I sort of liked it here."

Cody was silent for a while. He stared up at those blue eyes before patting her head with a clawed paw.

"I know," he said, trying to smile, "I can tell."

"Mmm…Ryuzaki, what's going on?" Light grumble and lifted his heavy head, rubbing his eyes, "Is that…that thing still here?"

"Yes," L mumbled, collapsing on the bed, hoping to sleep for at least five minuets. Light groaned and held his head.

"So…Mika's an angel," he said quietly. He looked over at L for confirmation. He nodded, his eyes closed.

"Well…what should we do?" Light asked softly. L looked at his partner.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I mean…should we…keep her? Or…send her back?"

"Keep her," L said without missing a beat. Light looked surprised.

"B-but…that thing said he was her guardian," he protested weakly, "And he said she has a mother that's looking for her. What should we do?"

"The short-thing clearly explained that he wishes for Mika to stay here for a while," L explained, turning over on he bed to face the other side, "He said he would notify her mother of her safety, but that she would remain here." Light was quiet for a while, then sighed deeply.

"Well, it won't be so bad," he muttered, closing his eyes. L nodded to himself and closed his eyes as well.

It won't be so bad. She can stay if she wants to.

"...Wait…," Light sat up and turned to L, "Is that…thing still here?"

"Yes, that thing will be staying here as well."

"Damn you, Ryuzaki!" Light took a pillow and flung it at L's head, but the detective was already sound asleep.

"Mika…Mika, are you listening to me?"

The silver haired girl made a soft noise of affirmation as she continued to stare out the window. She had never seen the city lights before from an apartment window, and she was awed by the bright lights and towering buildings. The sun had set and it was close to mid night.

The small reaper sat on the bed behind her, waiting for her reply. After a while, he gave up.

"Fine, don't say anything, just listen to what I'm saying," Cody said in a somewhat irritated tone as he turned to face her, "You do realize the risk you're taking staying with humans, right?"

Mika was still quiet as she rested her head in her hand, her angel blue eyes still fixated outside. From previous experience, Cody knew that Mika was a respectful and polite child; always obeying the orders of adults. But when Cody came into the scene, Mika treated him like a school friend, namely someone that could be ignored at will.

"I know," Mika said after a while, turning in her chair by the window so that she faced her long-time guardian, "But mother doesn't know I'm here, and the humans are watching over me. Why does Cody care so much?" She smiled when Cody glared daggers at her.

"You know it's my job to protect you," Cody muttered, getting up off his spot at the edge of the mattress and circling a few times on the covers to get comfortable, "I was given that job months before you were born, did you know that? I was told I was to watch over the heir to the Angel Army. So, I have that job to do," he finally settled down on the mattress and thumped his tail a few times, "Not to mention, I have to reap souls too."

Mika gave a slight smile as she pulled her knees up to her chest, leaning back on the chair, "Plus, I like these humans." Cody was about to lower his head to drift into a soft slumber before she heard these words. He looked up to see Mika's head rested on her knees, her eyes soft and have closed. He had never seen such an expression on her before.

"They're…different," Mika continued into her knees.

"They're…stupid," Cody retorted, "C'mon, humans can't be that interesting. Did you see that Lawliet character? He's probably a crack-addict! He looks like he hasn't slept in years. Plus, he eats nothing but candy."

"But I like them, Cody," Mika lifted her head and faced Cody, "Mika has never met humans. They took me in from the rain and gave me a place to sleep. I—trust them.

"Mika, don't be stupid," Cody almost spat, thumping his tail once more, "How can you trust a human, let alone two men? Hasn't Tseyka taught you everything?"

"Mother taught Mika that angels should always see the truth," Mika's insisting tone came back as she leaned her head back in exasperation to stare at the ceiling, "And I can see that Lawliet and Light will protect me with their life."

Cody had no idea where Mika got this strange idea, but he wasn't there three days earlier when Mika had first met L and Light.

"Mika…," Cody looked at her, "Did you…really forget why you came here?"

Mika looked at Cody for a while before shaking her head so that her bangs fell into her eyes.

"No," she said sadly, "Mika can't remember the mission assignment." Cody let out a deep sigh.

"Well, I suppose you'll remember sooner or later. No point in telling you; this place is probably bugged anyway." Cody closed his eyes. "Just be on your guard with these humans. I don't trust them. I think they have something to do with Kira."

Mika shook her head at this.

"Lawliet—I mean—Ryuzaki, said he would protect Mika," Mika said, walking over to her bed and lying down next to Cody, who grumbled and moved himself to the foot of the bed, "I've never heard someone say that to me. I…like it. I like Light. I like Ryuzaki."

"Why do you call him hat?" Cody looked at her. Mika cocked her head.

"Mm, I guess it's because I heard everyone else calling him that. But I could see his name was Lawliet."

"Well, at least your eye sight wasn't messed up," Cody muttered. He looked at the smile Mika had on and knew what was going on: Mika was breaking the first rule that Tseyka had taught her.

Still, he hadn't seen her happy like this in a while.

Before he left to go sleep on one of the arm chairs in the room, he grumbled, "Just don't do anything stupid Mika." Mika flipped onto her stomach and laughed.

"No, that's Cody's job," she laughed, Cody glaring at her, but felt himself smirk. Between the teenager, the insomniac and the naïve angel, he could get used to living with them. Mika had the same thoughts as she closed her blue eyes and murmured, "I like them."

* * *

Spookthemook says: I just finished Absolute Boyfriend a couple of days ago. I loved it so much; there are not that many manga that pertain only to girls. I also started re-reading Ai Yori Aoshi; one of the first manga I picked up. I'm such a sap for romance manga!


	7. Chapter 7

Bits and Pieces

"But Ryuzaki…."

"I said no."

"But why?"

"Because I said so."

"But-"

"Enough, Light."

"All I want are some friggin' pancakes!"

"I'm not going to call Watari at five in the morning to go get pancakes for you!"

"What about all those times you called him at night to get you more cake and ice cream?"

L whipped around from the kitchen cabinet he was facing and glared at Light.

"That's a completely different matter."

"It is not," Light mumbled, folding his arms.

"You're just going to have to eat what's in the kitchen," L droned, opening a box of cereal and handing it to Light, who took it unwillingly, "We need to get back on the case today. We still have to track down the remaining Yotsuba members, A.K.A, our only leads."

"I know," Light side, pouring some cereal into a bowl and reaching for he milk, "It's just, I still can't believe that Mika's a-"

"Light!" L suddenly picked up a spoon and threw it at the Light's head with a resonating clang.

"Ouch!" Light snapped, rubbing his head. L looked over at the cabinet behind him.

"Oh, here's the pancake mix," he said, reaching for a box.

"Ryuzaki! What the hell!?" Light yelled indignantly.

"This building is full of cameras, including this room," L said quietly, his black eyes shifting around the room as he handed Light the pancake box, "We don't want anyone else to know that Mika's an angel. It's just between us and the short thing."

"Well, you could have thought about that a little earlier!" Light yelled, snatching it from him and walking to the stove, "The whole crashing into the window thing is probably on tape." L nibbled on his thumb.

"I thought about it last night, and thought it reasonable to tell you now," was all he could come up with.

Just as Light was about to throw his own spoon at L, a soft voice sounded from the corner of the room.

"What's happening?"

The two turned to see Mika standing in the doorway, rubbing her eyes wearily. Cody was behind her, the usual toothy grin on his face.

"Wazzup!?" he yelled in greeting. He was ignored.

"Oh…nothing, Mika," L said quietly, glaring at Light, "I'm sorry, did we wake you?"

"No, Cody woke me up," Mika smiled, walking over to the counter and nimbly jumping onto the marble surface, resting on the edge, "What are you doing, Light?"

She was watching Light mix a bowl of pancake mix in interest.

It was a cold, cloudy morning, with an uncomforting morning mist hanging over the building and seeping into the windows.

"I'm making pancakes," Light declared, "Although, they'd be done by now if someone had found them sooner." L shoved a thumb in between his teeth and proceeded to count to ten very slowly.

"…Pan-cakes?" Mika sounded out the words, a confused look on her face.

"Oh, I thought we were done with this phase?" L said tiredly.

"Oh, Ryuzaki, you know you love teaching Mika new words," Light sang. L reached for the spoon again.

"By the way," Cody said, hopping up onto the counter next to Mika, his weasel like tail dangling off the edge, "How did you know her name was Mika?"

"She told us," Light explained, pouring the thick batter into the pan and grabbing a spatula, "At the beginning, she only spoke Latin, but she seemed to understand English a little. L told me everything."

"Oh, good," Cody nodded, "Because I was wondering how a lot like you were going to get her Japanese jump-started. I said she'd remember most of it by herself, but I can't imagine a bunch of business men like yourself coping with a half-dog girl."

"Business men?" Mika looked at Cody.

"Real uptight humans who don't know how to party," Cody explained to the confused angel.

"Oh," Mika nodded.

"Hey!" Light complained, "I'm not a business men! I'm going to be a detective."

"A…what?" Cody squinted his beady black eyes, "What exactly do you guys do here? I noticed all the cameras, and was kind of freaked out."

Light nervously looked at L.

"Should we…tell him?" he asked quietly.

L took a banana from the fruit bowl next to him and proceeded to peel it slowly.

"I don't see why not," he said quietly after a while, "Since Cody has taken a vow of secrecy among us, he shouldn't be able to tell anybody about this."

"Yup yup," Cody nodded eagerly.

"Very well," L sighed, turning his coal black eyes to the reaper, "We are part of the NPA. Right now, we are working on the Kira case, which I am sure you are well aware of, being that this person is costing you your job."

"Damn straight!" Cody banged his fist on the table, then suddenly perked up, "Wait a minuet…so….all of you are tracking down the so called Kira?"

"That's right," Light said, brining over a plate of fresh pancakes to sit across from Mika, "My father is the chief. We've been working on this case from the start."

Cody was quiet. His tail thumped against the counter slightly. He seemed to be thinking. He looked over at Mika. Mika cocked her head back at him, confused. Light, also confused, looked at L questioningly.

"What is it, Cody?" Mika smiled slightly. Cody was quiet for a while, looked down at the floor, his eyes narrowing.

"It's nothing," he finally said, "I was just thinking that if we didn't have to go back to heaven soon, Mika could help you out with the case. But that's sort of out of the question, isn't it?"

"Help us?" L repeated, slightly interested, "How?"

"Remember when you told me that Mika could see the names of those guys on your laptop?" Cody said after a somewhat reluctant pause, "Well, I forgot to mention this, but similar to a Shinigami, an angel can see the names and life span of a human, lest they be deceased."

"What?!" Light almost sprang forward in his chair, "You mean a Shinigami can see the names of people?" Cody turned to the detective next to him.

"I thought you said he was a genius," he asked.

"In some aspects," L chewed his thumb.

"Don't you see, Ryuzaki!?" Light gaped at the serene detective, "Since we now know that Shinigami are real, we can link their powers to Kira! Kira must have a Shinigami, or Shinigami-like powers to be seeing the names of those people!"  
"I am

fully aware of that now, Light," L nodded, "I just choose not to squawk like you do."

Light, somewhat put out, fell back in his chair. In Cody's words, there would be a blinking sign above his head that read OWNED.

"Wow, I'm surprised you guys didn't figure that out earlier," Cody piped up, "But, you are humans, so I don't expect you to know everything."

L narrowed his eyes briefly at the reaper, but he went back to the idea of Mika's powers.

_Mika with the ability to see names…that could be helpful indeed…_

"Well, hold on a sec," Cody held up a paw, "If you're thinking about using Mika to catch down this criminal, there's some things you need to know about this Kira person that you probably don't down."

"What things?" Light questioned through a mouthful of pancakes, "We've been studying this case for a month now."

"Listen, kid," Cody rolled his eyes, "I'm from the world where Shinigami are born. I'd at least know something about this Kira character. First of all, if he or she has a Shinigami, then chances are they have a Death Note."

"A…Death Note?" L asked quietly.

Mika suddenly lifted her head, her blue eyes locked onto Cody.

"Death Note," she spoke up, her eyes till on Cody, "A note book that kills whosever name is written in it."

"Good! You remembered!" Cody gave her a pat on the head.

"W-what is this Death Note?" Light stammered, "A note book of death?"

"As I said, "genius"," Cody sighed again, "A Death Note is a notebook given to all Shinigami by the Shinigami king. It's there job to write the names of humans in the note book when they're time is up, hence why they are able to see their lifespan. Mika, you remember the rules, right?"

Mika was silent for a while, cocking her head to one side.

"…The rules are," she said slowly, "…a Shinigami has to write down human's names, because they gain their remaining life span. If they don't, they will die. Also, a Shinigami cannot write down the name of someone who is not supposed to die, or they will die in their place. A Shinigami can write down the cause of death, time, and place. If neither is specified, the human will die of a heart attack."

L and Light stared at Mika in shock. Mika swung her feet off the edge of the counter, and smiled at the two.

"Yep, Mika remembers," she smiled.

"That…that's amazing," Light said in a hushed voice.

"What? Did you really think she forgot everything?" Cody asked incredulously, "No, Mika's like a computer. All angels are. They can retain countless information. A little bump on the head won't erase too much."

"No! Don't you see?" Light stood up eagerly, "Those criminals…they're all dying of heart attacks! This has to be what Kira's using! This means that Shinigami do exist, and Kira's using their powers!"

"He's right," L said quietly, leaning against the kitchen counter, "For once."

Light turned to him in surprise.

"I am?" he asked.

"Yes," L nodded. He slowly made his way over to the angel. Cody watched as L now stood in front of Mika, and slowly laid a hand on her soft silver hair.

"I certainly have no doubts that Mika is an angel, and that gods of death exist," he said quietly, looking into Mika's eyes, "From the day I saw her, I knew there was always that possibility. Now that I know, I want to know more. It's not just Kira I want to learn more about, and someday capture," he looked down at the sapphire blue eyes staring up at him, and restrained a small smile.

"I want to find out more about Mika too," he said softly, looking at the reaper next to her, who looked somewhat skeptical, "If Mika is willing to help me, I'll make sure she stays safe."

Cody narrowed his black eyes and gave an almost inaudible growl. L could tell that this wasn't exactly what Cody had in mind. The reaper turned to the angel, looking at her in a stern, hopeful way. Mika was still staring up at L, her eyes somewhat wide. He could tell she was surprised. When she turned to Cody, she saw the look in his eyes.

She knew as well as he did what she was getting herself into. And by the pleading look she gave him, he did as well.

He gave a slight nod.

"Yes!" Mika suddenly chirped, jumping up and throwing her arms around the startled detective, "I want to stay here and help Ryuzaki and Light! Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Light restrained a relieved laugh as L stumbled around, Mika soon suspended in he air by holding onto L's shoulders. After regaining his balance, L cleared his throat loudly and set Mika on the ground. Once she was on the ground, she immediately threw her arms around his legs and nestled her face into his stomach.

"Thank you, Ryuzaki," Mika said into his white shirt, bringing her smiling eyes up to meet his coal black ones, "Mika promises to do good! Mika will help you catch Kira!"

L, watching the girl positively glowing beneath him with excitement, patted her head reassuringly, but couldn't bring himself to give a smile. She looked so happy. It was almost sad, for him, to know that he had never intended to make her so happy, and now that he had, he felt as though he was deceiving her somehow.

It doesn't matter. I have Mika's powers, and soon we'll catch Kira. Justice will prevail, and her eyes will make sure of that.

Cody watched the two, along with Light. He breathed a sigh and thumped his tail against the counter when he saw Mika smile.

"An angels smile can be a beautiful thing," he said quietly. L turned to the reaper on hearing this. Cody sat serenely on the table, his small arms folded as he stared back at the pale detective.

"I haven't seen her smile in a while," Cody explained, his voice lifting, "There wasn't much to smile about back home, but if she can smile that much around you, I guess you guys are okay. I'll let her stay."

L gave a slight, thankful nod towards Cody and looked out the window. The sun was getting higher in the early afternoon sky. The sky was a positively vibrant blue, with white clouds scraped against the sky, the sun rays seeping into the windows and reflecting off the floor. The detective looked down at the small girl holding onto him, and noticed that she too was glowing.

_Is this another one of your tricks, Mika?_ He no longer restrained the smile and he placed a hand on her head.

_We'll find out soon enough. I'm sure you have much more to teach me, don't you?_

* * *

Spookthemook says: I wanted to thank you all for the wonderful reviews I'm getting! Before I wrote these stories just for fun, but now they I know people actually like them, I'm motivated to write more. Thanks for the encouragement guys! Also, I apologize if this was a little boring. I have to tie up all the pieces together, which is how I got the idea for the chapter name.  
After this chapter, there will be more enteraining short drabbles, or whatever these kids call them these days. Thanks for reading!


	8. Chapter 8

_Blue eyes say, Love me or I die; black eyes say, Love me or I kill thee._

_Spanish proverb_

**Mika no Uta**

"…What?"

L looked at her.

She looked at him.

"What is it that you want?" L asked again, his black eyes narrowing.

Usually, his stare was enough to make most people shy away, but not this girl.

She was on her hands and knees next to him on the couch, watching with intense blue eyes as L picked up a gumdrop from the bowl next to him and ate it. L looked at the candy in his hand.

"I thought you didn't eat," he asked suspiciously. Mika said nothing, but merely stared more, almost like a dog, her eyes wide and her ears perked up slightly

"…Not talking, huh?" L shook his head slightly and popped the candy into his mouth.

Next to him, Light was typing on his keypad in a one-fingered way. He looked utterly board, his eyes blank as they scanned words on the screen. L ignored him and grabbed a handful of gumdrops from the bowl next to him, stuffed them in his mouth, and proceeded to get back to work.

It had been a few days. The Kira case had been progressing, but not by much. L and Light hadn't found a moment where they needed Mika's eyes, but still made sure that her identity by the rest of the team was not figured out. No one seemed to question her ears anymore. Cody still inhabited the large apartment-like room, and had taken to sleeping most of the day. They decided not the bother him and focused on the case.

"Ryuzaki…."

"What?" L asked through a mouthful of candy.

"Ew! Cover your mouth!" Light scolded, shoving his foot into L's side from his position on the couch. L flinched but did nothing.

"Is there something Light wanted to ask me?" he asked through clenched teeth.

"Yeah," Light sighed, turning over on his side next to L and putting a hand under his chin, "Can we go out sometime?"

"No," L immediately answered, chewing loudly on the candy.

"W_hy_?" Light asked, elongated the word.

"Be_cause_," L mimicked Light's speech, "The last few times we chose to appear in public, Light broke a window, crashed the car, verbally abused an employee at a coffee shop, attempted to repeatedly assault a custodian at the supermarket, and threw countless hissy fits in malls."

Light was silent for a while, his eyes slightly widened as he comprehended everything L had said. Mika was still sitting next to L, looking at hungrily at the candy he was eating.

"Okay, but that custodian was asking for it," Light suddenly said, "He kept staring at my hair!"

"I'm sure he just found you attractive," L drawled, typing a few things absentmindedly on his laptop.

"Shut _up_," Light flopped back down on the couch, "And give Mika some candy before she bites your hand off."

"What are you-" L stopped short when he turned next to him to see Mika looking up at L expectantly, leaning towards the candy, her mouth opened slightly.

"…What is she doing?" L asked in complete befuddlement.

"She wants some candy," Light said incredulously, "Can't you see? She's been staring at it since you brought it out. You really don't have social skills, do you?"  
L looked down at Mika. Was she salivating?

"Hm," L observed, "Mika is performing the response to the stimulus of that in Pavlov's experiment. But I remember the short thing saying that angels do not eat."

"I think he said they can," Light said thoughtfully, looking at Mika, "He just said that they don't need to. If she ate it, it wouldn't go anywhere; it would just get absorbed into energy."

"…But that would mean that Shinigami don't need to eat either," L said quietly, a million thoughts going through his mind. But they were stopped short when he looked down at Mika, who still her had her mouth open towards the candy.

"…What do I do?" he asked blankly. Light scoffed.

"Give her some!" Light prompted.

L hesitantly picked a red gumdrop from the bowl. He held it toward the angel.

"Here," he said, "Take it."

Mika looked up at L, and opened her mouth even wider.

"Aaaah," she sang, like one might do when instructed to "open wide".

"…You truly are hopeless," L sighed, placing the gumdrop on her tongue, taking care to avoid her fangs. Mika closed her mouth and chewed on the candy happily.

"Mmm," she hummed, smiling.

"Y'know," Light suddenly said, "Mika was progressing so well with her language, I almost forgot she wasn't from this world. But she still has a lot to learn."

"Very true," L nodded.

"In fact, I don't think she's ever been outside," Light said thoughtfully, looking out the window, "It's a beautiful day…say, Ryuzaki?"

"Absolutely not."

"But why!? She's never been outside!"

"With good reason!" L shot back, holding up Mika's ears with two fingers.

"What's all the comobo!?"

The two bickering men turned to see the reaper Cody standing in the doorway wearing what appeared to be Light's robe, rubbing his eyes with a curled paw.

"What the hell?! Why is it in my clothes!?" Light yelled.

"Cody!" Mika chirped, waving a hand.

"Yeah, what's up, doll," Cody said distractedly, walking over to face L, "What's this I hear about the kid?" L sighed and rolled his head upwards to meet the ceiling.

"Light was hoping to take Mika outside today," the detective explained, "But I told him hat Mika should stay inside where she is not seen by others." Cody looked at L, then at Mika.

"I don't see the problem," Cody shrugged nonchalantly. L looked at him oddly.

"R-really?" he asked. He seemed somewhat unsettled by the idea.

"Sure," Cody sang, a grin on his face, "The kid needs some sunlight. It's not good for her kind to stay indoors all day. Take her out, have some fun with her."

"See?" Light grinned, "You can take us both out, then we'll all be happy, okay?"

L looked towards Mika. She was smiling at L the way she always did. L shoved a thumb in his mouth and bit down.

"Won't the ears…be a problem?" L asked quietly.

"Cover them up," Cody suggested, "Watch." Cody untied the red sash from Light's black bathrobe and tied it around each side of Mika's ears, so that it resembled a decorative ribbon. Mika shook her head a bit, then felt her ears.

"Pretty!" she smiled.

"Wow, you can't even see her ears," Light marveled, studying her, "Why didn't we think of that earlier?"

"Because you're humans," Cody rolled his eyes, "Anyway, as you can see, she looks just like one of you. I'm giving you permission to take Mika out into the world, or at least Tokyo. Show her the human world! She's never seen it!"

L studied her as well. She did look human with the ribbon covering her ears, even with her silver hair and blue eyes. But was it really safe to take such a delicate, naïve child out into the world?

L bit down on his thumb more, calculating percentages.

_I can't take both Light and Mika out; that's too much trouble. Only one shall go, but who shall it be? Mika's chance of getting noticed has been reduced from 93% to 10%. Light has a 2% chance of getting noticed. Mika has a 67% chance of doing something life threatening. Light has a 54% chance. Hm…well, I guess there's only one person to choose to take out today._

Light watched in shock as L slapped on the metal handcuffs, locking the other side onto the couch leg.

"_You…you bastard!_" Light shrieked as L proceeded out of the room, "_I hate you, you pale-faced psycho-path!_"

"Come along, Mika," L patted his side and turned to the angel on the couch. She looked the familiar man, to the reaper next to her. Cody nodded his head.

"Go head," he smiled.

Mika suddenly grinned, jumping off the couch and hurrying to L's side.

"Are you ready to see the world?" L asked, turning the doorknob.

"Yes!" Mika declared, following obediently after L.

Cody watched wistfully as Light continued to scramble on the ground next to him. The sun had even gotten brighter once they left, the sky now an even more vibrant blue. Cody was silent, his eyes stern as he looked at the door.

He couldn't understand why she was so happy.

"That jerk! How come that freak gets to go out and I have to stay here!? I'm the one who has a social life! I'm the one who…Cody?...Cody, what's up?"

Cody jumped slightly, turning to the teen on the floor.

"Oh…it's nothing," he said quietly. Light watched curiously as Cody turned back to the door, his eyes still, his mind working.

***********

It was summer, and the entire city of heated with a sense of wellbeing. The bright sun reflected off of the grey concrete, the color banners and vibrant blue skies replaced the flashing lights and blinking advertisements that lit up at night. Hundreds of people were walking to and from buildings, talking, yelling, smiling, checking their watches, talking on their phones, or simply just staring at the ground as they headed towards there destination. It seemed no one was taking in the beauty of the perfect day.

Except for Mika.

L thought her abnormally large, blue eyes couldn't get any larger, until that day. She stared up at the sky, the buildings, over at the people, the signs, down at the concrete. She looked form left to right, up and down, leaning forward and craning her head back, so much that L had to hold on to her arm to keep her from falling down from not looking.

"The city is big," Mika gasped, gaping at a large advertisement for Shojo Beat above her.

"Yes, it is fairly large," L mumbled. Unlike Mika, he hated the city. The noise, the crowds, the constant motion. He merely chomped on the lollipop he had clenched tightly in his jaws and tried to drown out the noise.

He soon found this to be near impossible.

"Ryuzaki, look at that! Ryuzaki, look! Look! Wow, what's that, Ryuzaki!? Hey, that thing has ears like Mika! Wow, that's big! What's that in the air!? What's that?! What's that!?"

L suddenly stopped, holding onto Mika's hand tightly.

"Yes, Mika I can see that. That back there was a skyscraper. What you saw before was a dog, closely related to the wolf. That big thing is a television screen, used for advertisement and news. The thing in the air is an airplane. That which you are pointing to is a homeless person. And finally, please address me as Ryuga in public. Any questions?"

Mika looked up at L's tired face, trying to read his expression. L thought that she had finally calmed down, and was ready to resume his walking, to show Mika the city, make her happy, and then take her home, when Mika pointed to something behind and said, "Ryuga, what's that!?"

L sighed loudly and slowly turned around. He saw behind him a cotton candy vender, cheerfully handing out cotton candy sticks to customers. L's eyes lit up.

"Mika…," he said quietly, still looking at the candy, the lollipop now being thrown into a garbage can and being replaced with a finger, "Would you like some cotton candy?"

Mika stalled, tearing her eyes away from a blinking advertisement portraying the latest news on the criminals that were killed that week.  
"Ah…Mika doesn't know what that is…," he smiled.

L slowly turned to look at her with is owl like eyes. Mika wavered slightly, unsettled by the domineering look he was giving her.

"Mika, come with me," L said quietly. He took Mika's small hand, pulling her along as he made his way to the vender. Mika watched with wide eyes as L led her sternly over to his destination. Suddenly, her eyes widened with fear, and she began to yank herself away from L's grasp violently.

"No! No! Let go! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

L immediately let go of the child and stopped short, staring at her in disbelief. A couple of people slowed their pace and turned to see a small, shy girl shying away from a pale, sallow, un-kept looking man.

Needless to say, L got a few disapproving looks, as well as a few "Perverts!" thrown at him.

"…Mika, it's alright," L said, kneeling down to her height and ruffling her hair with a long-fingered hand. Tears were even welled up in her pretty blue eyes. L became worried.

"I'm not going to punish you," L continued quietly, looking at her distraught face, "I just wanted to buy you some sweets. Why would I punish you for not knowing what cotton candy is?"

Mika was silent, bringing up a shaking hand to wipe her eyes. She nodded, and let L carefully take her hand again so as not to startle her, and they proceeded to buy some sweets.

"Here, Mika."

Mika looked up, still slightly upset, to see L handing her a piece of the pink cotton candy that he held in one hand. Mika looked at the odd substance in his hand.

"…I-is that…candy?" she asked meekly.

"Yes, this is candy," L clarified, "A type of food that is very sweet." Mika wrinkled her nose a bit. "…Sweet?" she questioned.

"Yes, something that is sweet is…ah…very likeable to someone with a sweet tooth such as mine. Like the gumdrop you had earlier. I'm very partial to sweet things," L nodded to himself as Mika hesitantly took the piece of pink fluff. She stared at it for a while, turning it around and inspecting it. Finally, she popped it into her mouth. L watched with mild interest as she closed her mouth, her eyes rolling from side to side.

"Mmm," Mika suddenly hummed, smiling, "Ryuzaki was right! It is sweet!" L smiled to see her old smile back and patted her head.

"Just like you," he smiled warmly, "I find you satisfy my sweet tooth as well, Mika."

L was curious when Mika stared at him, then looked away with wide eyes, her face matching the color of the cotton candy she held. He wondered if he had upset her again, when Mika turned back after a while, her mouth open in astonishment.

"The…the candy is gone! Ryuga, the candy disappeared and I didn't swallow!"

L smiled even wider and took a piece of the candy as well, as the two walked down the street together.

The sun was staring to sink low in the sky, leaving the pleasant summer sky tinted with pink and blue. The summer heat was replaced with a soft, lulling coolness. The lights in the city had become more prominent, adding to the beautiful scenery.

After L had devoured most of the cotton candy, he had checked his watch and clarified that it was time to head home. Mika had no complaints, since she was quite tired from her experiences. L had shown her all different sorts of buildings, shops, parks, and other sights that a tourist might visit. It comforted him to know that she had enjoyed her evening.

"Ryuga…?"

L looked down at Mika. She was looking up at him with those big eyes again.

"Hn?" L mumbled questioningly, looking at her.

"Why do humans hold hands and press their lips together?"

L furrowed his brow at her in puzzlement, looking up to see Mika observing a couple sitting on a park bench together, holding hands and kissing.

_Oh, not this again._

"That…is called 'kissing'," the detective mumbled, trying to keep his eyes ahead of himself and not on Mika's clueless expression.

"Oh…" Mika said, "Why do humans do that?" L sighed.

"It's a genetic response passed down to humans from primates," he droned, "It's just something we respond with when we feel attracted or close to someone."

Mika was quiet. She turned away for a second, her eyes thoughtful, as she stared up at the shining lights. It fascinated her greatly. She had never seen anything so beautiful. She didn't notice that a few people were staring at her remarkable looks and blue eyes. L, however, did notice, and found it irritating.

_Haven't they ever seen a blue-eyed girl before? It's not like they know she's an angel. They can't see her wings and halo like Cody can._

But when L looked at her unwavering eyes, her silver hair, her graceful walk and the fascinated expression on her pale complexion, he had to admit that even he was amazed by her beauty. He couldn't deny that angels were indeed perfection.

"Ryuga…"

L looked down again. She was staring at him yet again. L restrained a weak cough of surprise and turned away, "Yes?"

"…I keep doing this," Mika suddenly said, and began to shake, her eyes squeezed shut, "What does that mean?" L raised an eyebrow suspiciously. _Could she mean…?_

"Are you cold, Mika?" L asked. He looked at her pale skin and saw that she had goose bumps.

"What's cold?" Mika asked.

"Don't you have weather in heaven?" L asked tiredly. Mika shook her head, shivering slightly and wrapping her arms around herself, resembling a bird puffing up to stay warm. L sighed. She truly was hopeless.

"Come here," he said, draping his long arm around her shoulder and pulling her close. Mika stumbled slightly as her head met a few inches above L's waist. She looked up, surprised, as L continued to walk down the darkening street. She felt her face warm up again, and couldn't understand how she could go from hot to cold so fast. It confused her, but soon she felt the coldness on her skin melt away into L's warmth.

"…Thank you, Ryuga," Mika smiled, her head resting against L.

"I wouldn't want you to freeze," L mumbled, looking ahead. He tried to concentrate on the lights and advertisements everywhere, blinking like stars. There was music playing somewhere off in the distance, and the steam from foods being cooked in venders melted in with the rest of the city.

"…It's…pretty," Mika said quietly. L looked at her, and then at the world around them.

"Oh…yes…yes it is," he said softly, pulling her closer.

***********

"Did you guys have a good time?" Light asked as Mika and L walked through the door.

"Yes!" Mika chirped, nodding eagerly, "I saw buildings, signs, lights, food, and a homeless person!"

Light raised an eyebrow.

"Charming, Ryuzaki."

"I can't help it if Tokyo does not wish to offer more employment," L muttered.

"Well, that being said," Light said in a strangely pleasant voice, "Do you think you could see your way into getting these _goddamn handcuffs off of me!?_"

L looked over to see Light handcuffed to the couch, reminding the detective of the phrase "if looks could kill".

"…Oh…yes, of course, Light," L said innocently, producing the key from his pocket and kneeling down to unlock Light. Light immediately stood up with an indignant huff and stalked out of the room towards the bedroom. L looked to see Mika standing below him, smiling at him.

"…Why don't you go to bed, Mika?" L asked, looking at the clock, "It's getting pretty late." Mika nodded happily, about to walk towards her room, when she ran back to L, wrapping her arms around his leg.

"Thank you, Ryuzaki," she smiled. L looked down at her and patted her head.

"You're welcome," he said. Mika smiled and ran to her room. L looked around the empty room, the lights from the city outside glinting through the window.

"…Well," L sighed, stretching slightly as he went to the cupboard to grab a bag of gummy bears, "Time to get to work."

**********

"Cody! Cody!"

Cody awoke from his sleep to see Mika jumping above him on the bed.

"Urgh, what? What!? Stop jumping!" Cody snapped. Mika flopped down on the bed and lay next to Cody, smiling.

"Ryuzaki took Mika to the city and I got to see buildings and lights and dogs and food and it was great!" Cody blinked, letting the words seep in.

"Well, good," he finally said, watching as Mika pulled one of the black dresses Misa had given her over her head and put on the far-too-large white shirt that she found on the floor. Cody cocked his head.

"Why do you still wear that guy's old shirt?" he asked incredulously, "You have other clothes too."

"Mika knows," the angel shrugged, curling up at the front of the bed, "I just like the way this shirt smells." Cody watched as Mika turned a few circles on the bed before nestling into the pillows. He opened his mouth to say something, hesitated, and then started.

"Mika…you know that La-Ryuzaki is a human, right?" he asked slowly.

"Yes," Mika said from the covers, her eyes somewhat sleepy.

"And…you do know that you can't…love him, right?" he asked, measuring his words, but saying them sternly. Mika was quiet, staring at Cody, the blanket covering her nose so that only her eyes were visible. She nodded.

"Mika knows," she nodded. Cody nodded as well.

"Because you're an angel, and angels can't love," he continued.

"Mika can't love," Mika agreed softly, before closing her eyes, "Mika won't love…"

Cody, assured that she was asleep, got off the bed and went to the window to look out at the city below. He sighed, putting a paw to his closed eyes, and recited softly:

_From thine own eyes of purity comes the truth of all humankind_

_You, who is young and frail_

_Will be cursed to bleed from the wound of love_

_You, who is divine and right_

_Whose temptations will lead others to their death_

_Will find your what you were forbidden to search for_

_Oh, flower of purity, child of chastity_

_Will thou ever be able to reach for the fruit of knowledge with gentle hands_

_And eat from the tree of truth?_

_Those who resist will join you by your side_

_And you will be happy_

_From thine own blue eyes of purity will come the word that the winged ones fear_

_The word meaning eternity_

When he finished the verse, he looked at the sleeping angel. He suddenly gave a low growl and jumped off the window sill, climbing onto the chair opposite the bed and curling up into a ball on the chair.

"Whatever," he grumbled, his small black eyes closing, "It's just a stupid myth anyway."

* * *

Spookthemook says: I know. Long delay. I'm bad. Anyway, I thank you for your patience, and I hope you enjoy this chapter. I just made up that silly little prophecy thing, but I think it works well to the story. At first I was going to use the lyrics for the Elfen Lied song Lilium, since it's in Latin. I would like to incorporate that song though, it works well with the story. You can listen to it on youtube. Anyway, I hope you all had a rockin' Halloween!

Thegriffin88 says: Hell, I make up half the shit I write on the spot. I sure we're not the only ones.


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